
Class 6J~^ 

Book__u 



Rf^ ' 



y 



^575 



J^o Class. 



Case. 






m 




THE 



WINDOW GARDENER. 




i^ r.ECEiVED. ^^^ 



/APR 18 1882 ' 

^. O ^ C BY. ^^.-./ 



EDWARD sfl^A'ND, JR., 

AUTHOR OF '•FLOWERS FOR THE PARLOR AND GARDEN," " BULBS,' 

"garden FLOWERS," "RHODODENDRONS," 

ETC., ETC. 






BOSTON: 

SHEPARD AND GILL. 

1873. 



^.^'^ 



A0 ,»> 



\ 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1863, by 

Edward S. Rand Jr., 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massa- 
chusetts. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872, by 

Edward S. Rand Jr., 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 



Ay traasfvr tsmm 

Pat. Mi<M L*. 

4©H1 f»14. 



INTRODUCTION". 



As some misapprehensions have arisen, and false statements 
have been made in regard to the present volume, it is not out of 
place to preface the present edition with a few words of introduc- 
tion. 

The volume is not wholly a new book, but is mostly composed 
of a revision of chapters which originally appeared in " Flow- 
ers for the Parlor and Garden.'* The latter work, however, em- 
braces a large range of subjects, many of which are only of interest 
to those who have extensive horticultural facilities ; and this, in 
addition to its cost, necessarily places it above the reach of the 
large number who have only opportunities for window gardening, 
and who only wish a cheap manual of culture. 

It was to meet this demand that the volume was originally 
issued ; and the cordial reception it has thus far met in the sale 
of former editions well attests that it supplies a popular want. 

While generally the subject-matter is not new, all has been 
revised, and the whole volume brought up to the point of horti- 
cultural progress of the present year. This, of course, involved 



IV WINDOW GARDENING. 

the necessity for many changes, and called for the addition of 
much new matter. 

The book is strictly what its name implies, — a manual of 
"Window Gardening," and contains all the information neces- 
sary for the culture of plants in the parlor. 

It is not an expensive book, but is a manual of culture for the 
many ; and its price places it within the reach of all who wish to 
brighten the dark days of winter by the presence of flowers in the 
window, or who enjoy the home-culture of the pet geraniums, the 
monthly roses, or the dark-leaved ivy, which often, under the con- 
stant care of loving hands, thrive better in the chamber-window 
than in the costly greenhouse. 

The present volume is but one of a series of cheap works on 
different horticultural subjects ; another of which ("Popular Flow- 
ers ") is already before the public, and of which others are in 
preparation. 

Glen Ridge, May, 1873. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER TAGK 

I. Window Gardening 1 

Growth of Plants. — Situation and Exposure. — Heat. — Mois- 
ture. — Temperature of Room. — Ventilation. — Washing. — Syrin- 
ging. — Watering. — Choice of Pots. — Window Flower Tables. — 
Window Shelves. — Potting. — Manuring. — Soil, — Peat. — Loam. 

— Sand. — Leaf Mould. — Manure. — Proportions of Each. — In- 
sects. — Green Fly. — Mealy Bug. — Scale. — Red Spider. — Prun- 
ing. 

II. Plants for Window Gardening. . . .15 

The Camellia : History. — Culture. — Soil — Temperature. — 
Potting. — Pruning, — Selection of Varieties. Orange and Lemon 
Trees : Culture. — Growth. — Blooming. — Varieties. — Seedlings. 

— Budding. The Daphne : Pruning. — Potting. —Varieties. — 
Soil. The Azalea : Description. — Potting. — Culture. — Prun- 
ing. — Varieties. The Heath : History. — Soil. — Drainage. — 
Watering. — Hard and Soft Wooded. — Temperature. — Summer 
Culture. — Re-potting. — Insects. — Rooting Plants. — Varieties. 
The Cyclamen : Potting. — Soil. — Growth. — Seedlings. — Varie- 
ties. 

III. Plants for Window Gardening — Continued. . 41 

The Geranium. The Pelargonium : History. — Culture. — 
Soil. — Potting. — Winter Treatment. — Varieties. The Verbena : 
History. — Culture. — Cuttings. — Summer Culture. — Potting for 
Winter. — Watering. — Soil. — Seedlings. — Properties of a good 
Verbena. — Window Culture. — Varieties. The Heliotrope : His- 
tory. — Culture. — Pruning. — Varieties. The Salvia, or Mexi- 
can Sage : Summer Culture. — Winter Culture. — Varieties. The 
Trop^eolum, or Nasturtium : Varieties. — Soil. — Culture. — 
Varieties of the small Nasturtium. — Window Culture. 

(5) 



b CONTENTS. 

IV. Plants for Window Gardening — Continued. . 67 

Roses. China Rose : History. — Description. — Soil. — Prun- 
ing. — Watering. — Varieties. Tea Rose : History. — Culture. — 
Varieties. Bourbon Roses : History. — Culture. — Varieties. 
Pinks : Indian Pink. — Carnation. — Difference between Carnation 
and Picotee. — Classes. — Soil. — Potting. — Care of Flowers. — 
Culture out of doors. — Propagation. — Layers. — Pipings. — List 
of Carnations and Picotees. Fuchsias : History. — Growth. — 
How to direct it. — Wintering. — Soil. — Varieties. 

V. Plants for Window Gardening — Cojitimied. 90 

Myrtle : History. — Soil. — Culture. — Varieties. Ach^exia : 
Ease of growing. — Soil. Abutilon : Culture. — Soil. — Varieties. 
Thunbergia : Sowing. — Training. — Insects. — Soil. — Varieties. 
Aloysia, or Lemon Verbena : Culture. — Soil. — Watering. 
Calla : Resting. — Blooming. — Soil. Cuphea : Culture. — Pot- 
ting. — Soil. Cactus : Divisions of the Family. — Cereus : Sum- 
mer Treatment. — Pruning. — Watering. — Varieties of Cereus. — 
Epiphylban: Soil. — Varieties. Hydrangea: Culture. — Soil. — 
Effect of Iron. Agapanthus : Soil. — Wintering. — Watering. — 
Varieties. Oleander: Flowering. — Soil. — Varieties. Pittos- 
PORUM : Varieties. — Soil. Jasmine : Soil. — Culture. — Water, 

— Varieties. Calceolaria : Sowing. — After Culture. — Soil. 
Mahernia : Description. — Soil. — Varieties. Primula : Sow- 
ing. — Treatment. — Soil. — Description. Solanum : A Parlor 
Ornament. — Culture. — Soil. Laurestinus : Description. — 
Washing. Hoya : Description. — Flowering. — Watering. Chrys- 
anthemums : Culture. — Watering. — Soil. — Varieties. Bego- 
nia : Varieties. — Situation. — Watering. — Soil. 

VI. Plants for Window Gardening — Continued. 110 

Smilax : History. — Soil. — Culture. Gelsemium : Culture. 
Stevia: Soil. — Culture. Petunia : History. — Soil. — Culture. 
Ferns in the Parlor. Chrysanthemums : Varieties for window 
culture. Agave, or Century Plant : Species. — Culture. Ge- 
raniums, or Pelargoniums: New Variegated-leaved. — Double. 

— New Ivy-leaved. Palms for House Culture. 

VII. Hanging Baskets and Suitable Plants, and 

Treatment of Ivy 124 




CHAPTER I. 



WINDOW GARDENING. 



Growth of Plants. — Situation and Exposure. — Heat. — Moisture. — Tem- 
perature of Room. — Ventilation.— Washing. — Syring-ino^. — Watering. 
—Choice of Pots. — Window Flower Tables. — Window Shelves.— 

(1) 



WINDOW GARDENING. 

Potting. — Manuring. — Soil. — Peat. — Loam. ■— Sand. — Leaf Mould. — 
—- Manure. — Proportions of Each. — Lisects. — Green Fly. — Mealy 
Bug. — Scale. — Red Spider. — Pruning. 

grow plants to perfection in a room 
is not an easy thing. To insure any 
degree of success, a careful and con- 
stant attention to details is necessary. 
These details are all little things in 
themselves ; they seem almost trivial ; but 
their observance is imperative, if we would 
have our plants in healthy foliage and profuse 
bloom. It is by the neglect of all, or some of 
these, that plants grown in rooms usually present 
such a diseased, unhealthy appearance. 

Any one of us can call to mind some friend, who, as we 
say, is always successful with flowers ; has blossoms when 
no one else can, and whose plants are models of health and 
beauty. We laughingly say, the flowers are his friends; 
he knows them, and they bloom for him ; and so it is, in 
fact ; he knows their peculiarities, attends to their wants, 
feeds them properly, affords the requisite light and air. Is 
it then a wonder that for him the grateful flowers put on 




WINDOW GARDENING. 3 

their richest dress of green, and reach out their perfiimed 
blossoms ? 

But before we give rules for growing window plants, let 
us look at these little things, which may come under the 
head of general instructions. And, first, the 

SiTTIATION. 

We have decided to grow window plants, and we must 
now choose our window. Let it, if possible, face the east 
or south ; that is, be one which receives the full rays of the 
morning sun. If we are unfortunate enough not to have 
such a window, choose the one having the most sun ; the 
afternoon sun is better than none at all. There are very 
few plants which will flourish without sunlight, and, as a 
general rule, the more we can obtain the better. If you 
have a bay window, looking south, you need ask nothing 
better. 

Heating. 

If possible, choose a room where the temperature at 
night never falls below forty to forty-five degrees. Let this 
heat be maintained by an open fire, or by an air-tight 
stove, on which a large pan of water should be constantly 
evaporating. A furnace is injurious to plants, by reason 



4 WINDOW GARDENING. 

of its dry heat only ; the little gas escaping from our best 
furnaces is not sufficient to affect plants injuriously. And 
while speaking of gas, if possible avoid the use of gas 
light in the room ; the unconsumed gas, always given off, is 
fatal to delicate plants, and hurtful to the most hardy. If 
you must use gas in the room, arrange glass doors to shut 
off your plants from the room, or give up window plants, 
and confine yourself to gi'owth in Wardian cases. If a 
furnace is your only means of heating, provide for sufficient 
moisture by constant evaporation. Another objection to a 
furnace is, that it keeps the room too warm for a healthy 
growth of the plants. 

The cause of so many window plants showing long, 
white, leafless stalks, with a tuft of leaves on the end, is, 
too great heat and too little light. Proportion the two, and 
you obtain a short, stocky, healthy gi-owth. In rooms, 
this proportion is always unequal. In winter, there are 
eight hours of sun to sixteen of darkness; we keep the 
plant at a temperature of sixty to seventy degrees all the 
twenty-four. In a green-house, on the contrary, the tem*- 
perature falls to forty degrees at night, rising, by the heat 
of the sun, by day, to a maximum of seventy. 



WINDOW GARDENING. 5 

Ventilation^. 
This must not be neglected; it is as essential to the 
health of the plant as to the human organization. The best 
method of providing it is to open the top of the window when 
the sun's rays are hottest on the plants. The quantity of 
air to be given must be proportioned to the outside tem- 
perature. In cold, cloudy days, but little, and often none, 
should be given. Care must be taken never to allow a 
direct stream of cold air to blow upon any plant. 

Washing. 
This must be done frequently. A plant breathes like an 
animal, and not through one mouth, but thousands. As is 
well known, the plant draws up its food from the soil 
through the roots, in a liquid form. This food, very much 
diluted, must be concentrated, and thus assimilated to the 
plant. We have in the leaves of the plant, a most beauti- 
ful arrangement to answer this need. They are filled wi<:h 
** stomata," or breathing pores, which allow exhalation when 
moisture is freely supplied, and check it when the supply 
faUs off. These little mouths are found on both sides of 
the leaf in most plants, but usually on the lower side in by 
far the greater number. They vary in different plants from 



6 WINDOW GARDENING. 

several hundred to more than one hundred and fifty thou- 
sand to a square inch of leaf. Now we are careful in our 
own persons to bathe daily, lest, as we say, the pores of the 
skin become obstructed; yet we are willing to allow our 
plants to go unwashed for a whole winter, when the pores 
are much smaller, more numerous and delicate, than those 
of the body. The rule is obvious : wash the teaves of the 
plants, both under and upper sides, at least once a week ; 
if oftener, the better. Use water moderately warm, and if 
the plants become very dirty, a little weak soap-suds is 
beneficial. This washing should be carefully done with a 
soft sponge or cloth in the case of plants with thick, pol- 
ished leaves, such as camellias, oranges, and daphnes, 
^Vhere plants have hairy leaves, or the substance is soft, 
water is best applied with a small syringe, fitted with a 
very fine " rose." To use this, place the plant on its side 
in the kitchen sink, syringe it well, turning it from side to 
side. Let it stand a few minutes for the water to drain off*, 
and return it to its place : it will thank you for its bath by 
its bright foliage. Never wet the flowers of a plant; water 
always injures them ; nor allow drops of water to stand on 
any leaves in the sunshine : the rays of the sun form a 
focus in the di-op of water and scorch the leaf. Once a 



WINDOW GARDENING. i 

month, at least, wash the stem and branches of all the hard- 
wooded plants with a soft sponge dipped in lukewarm 
water; this prevents the lodgment of insects, and con- 
tributes to the health of the plant. 

Wateking 

Is one of the most difficult subjects to prescribe by rule, 
yet there are some rules of general application. 

Let it be always done with a watering-pot with a fine 
rose, such as may be procured at any tinman's. The 
advantage of this is, it allows the water to fall drop by drop 
over the whole surface of the soil, whereas, if a pitcher is 
used, the plants are deluged, or holes made in the earth by 
the stream of water, and the roots not unfrequently dis- 
turbed. 

Let it be done regularly ; the morning is the best time, 
and once a day. 

The surface of the soil should never be allowed to become 
perfectly dry, nor should it be sodden with moisture. The 
temperature of the water used is of vital importance. It 
should neither be cold nor warm, but just the temperature 
of the atmosphere of the room. Thus no check, or chill, or 
undue excitement is given to the roots, both roots and 
branches being equally warm. 



8 WINDOW GARDENING. 

A good plan is, to set over niglit a large pan of water 
among your flowers, then you will be sure of a sufficiency 
of water of the proper temperature for the morning water- 
ing. If this is too much trouble, remember in watering, it 
is better to have the water too warm than too cold, that is, 
of a higher rather than a lower temperature than the roots 
and branches. Now as to the quantity of water. No rule 
of universal application can be prescribed. What is life to 
one class of plants is death to another. The amount of 
water necessary to make a calla lily thrive would kill a 
cactus or a heath, and yet the drought necessary for the 
cactus would be death to the heath. 

A good rule, however, is never to allow the soil to 
become dusty or muddy, and with drainage in potting the 
latter is easily prevented; by regular waterings, the for- 
mer. Particulars of treatment for different plants will be 
given when treating of each plant. 

Never allow water to stand in the saucers of the pots 
unless the plants are semi-aquatic. 

Pots. 
Choose the common flower-pots, selecting those which 
are light colored rather than those which are brick red ; the 



WINDOW GARDENING. 9 

former are soft baked and are more porous; in these, the 
plants thrive better. 

Discard all glazed, china, glass, or fancy painted pots ; 
they are not porous, and plants seldom thrive in them. 
There is nothing neater than the common earthen pot, if 
kept clean. If, however, something more ornamental is 
desired, choose some of the fancy pots, — and some are very 
pretty and artistic in design, — and let them be large 
enough to set the common pot inside. 

But there is a very pretty way of fitting up a window 
which is but little practised ; it is, in fact, making the win- 
dow a flower garden. Build from your window into the 
room a rounding wooden shelf, say, if the window is 
large, three feet in diameter from window to outer edge, 
but at any rate proportioned to the size of the window. 
On this, place a large box, wood, or earthen ware unglazed, 
made to conform to the shelf, and in this put your plants, 
the taller at the back, the smaller in front, and on each 
side a climber to run over the top of the window, on a neat 
wire trellis or on strings. 

It is desirable to have holes in the bottom of the box to 
allow superflous water to escape, and to permit this, the 
shelf should be covered with zinc, which is preferable to 



10 WINDOW GARDENING. 

tin, as it does not rust, and have a low rim all around it, 
with a little hole to drain off the superfluous water running 
from the boxes. This is a very pretty way of window gar- 
dening, but is only to be practised in a very light room ; 
for in a room with but one window, the plants would all 
grow to the light, and being planted out, they could not be 
turned as if in pots. A pretty way to grow low plants, 
bulbs, and is to fit a box, say eighteen inches wide, and as 
long as the window, into the window, and then place the 
taller plants behind in pots. This box could be turned aa 
occasion required, or as the plants grew towards the light, 
or could even be removed from window to window. 

Potting. 

But a few words are necessary. Always fill the lower 
inch of the pot with broken potsherds to secure drainage. 
In filling the soil around the plants, press it in firmly and 
establish the plant well. There is no advantage in loose 
potting. 

In re-potting, pare off as much of the old, sour soil as 
possible, being careful not to injure the roots, and place the 
ball of the plant in the centre of the new pot, filling in all 
around with fresh soil. As a general rule, plants need 



WINDOW GARDENING. 11 

re-potting whenever the roots begin to curl round the inside 
of the pot, or as gardeners say, " touch the pot." This is 
easily ascertained by turning the pot do^vn, striking the 
rim gently against some object by a quick rap, holding the 
ball of earth and the plant on the palm of the other hand. 
The plant may thus be taken from the pot and examined, 
returned again, settled by a smart stroke of the bottom of 
the pot on the table, and will be none the worse for the 
inspection. This is also a good way to detect worms in 
pots, they generally living near the outside of the ball. The 
operation must, however, be quickly done, or the worm will 
be too nimble and withdraw into the interior of the ball. 

Stirring the surface of the soil is very beneficial, especially 
for roses, if the roots are not thereby injured. Top dressing 
is also productive of good efi'ects, particularly with old 
plants in heav}^ pots and tubs. It is simply removing the 
top soil as far down as the upper roots, and refilling the 
pot with fresh, light, rich soil. 

Manxjhing 
Is not generally needed in pot plants. A mixture of pow- 
dered or small bits of charcoal in the soil adds a deeper lus- 
tre to the green of the foliage and brilliancy to the color of 



12 WINDOW GARDENING. 

the flowers. Bone shavings produce the same eflfect on 
hyacinths. 

Liquid manure should be sparingly used, and then very 
weak. 

If guano, a tea-spoonful to a quart of water applied once 
a week. 

Liquid stable manure in about the same proportion, 
applied as seldom. 

Soil. 

In potting window plants rich soil should generally be 
used. The different kinds of soil are, — 

Peat, which is black earth or decomposed vegetable 
fibre, usually taken from meadows or damp woods. If a 
mixture of white sand is with it, it becomes more valuable. 

Loam, our common garden soil. It may be black or 
light brown. The best is obtained by taking the turf of 
old pastures and letting it lay till it all crumbles. 

Sand, common, or " silver," such as used by glass 
makers. It should be free from salt. White beach sand 
may be freshened by frequent washings. 

Leaf mould, the decomposed leaves, being the top soil in 
old woods. 



WINDOW GARDENING. 13 

Manure, the material of an old hot-bed, well rotted 
and entirely decomposed; the older the better. 

From these five earths all the soil for green-house opera- 
tions is compounded. 

In treating of each plant hereafter we will give its con- 
genial soil. 

As a general soil for potting plants, we would say two 
parts leaf mould, one part manure, one half part loam, one 
half part peat, one part sand. 

Insects. 

The only ones troubling house plants are, the green fly, 
the mealy bug, the scale, and the red spider. 

Green fly is to be killed by a smoking with tobacco. Put 
the plant under a barrel with smoking tobacco; let it 
remain, say fifteen minutes ; then give it a syringing. 

Mealy bug is to be searched for and destroyed. Fre- 
quent spongings do much to keep down this pest. 

Scale is to be treated in the same way. Warm soap-suds 
are peculiarly distasteful to the creature. 

Red spider, which is seldom found on house plants, is 
nourished by a dry, warm atmosphere. Water is certain 
death. Keep the foliage syringed and atmosphere moist, 
and you will have no red spider. 



14 



WINDOW GARDENING. 



Pbuning 

Is but little required. Should a branch grow out of 

place or die, it should be neatly cut off; and a judicious 

pinching does much to regulate the shape of a plant. Of 

course all dead leaves and old blossoms should be cut off at 




'LL teach thee miracles ! Walk on this heath, 
And say to the neglected flower, " Look up, 
And be thou beautiful ! " If thou hast faith, 
It will obey thy word. 



CHAPTER II. 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 



The Camellia : History. — Culture. — Soil. — Temperature. — > Potting- 
— Pruning. — Selection of Varieties. Orange and Lemon Trees. 
Culture. — Growth. — Blooming-. — Varieties. — Seedlings. — Buddirg. 
The Daphne : Pruning. — Potting. — Varieties. — Soil. The Azalea 

(15) 



16 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 



Description. — Potting-. — Culture. — Pruning-. — Varieties. The Heath : 
History. — Soil. — Drainage. — Watering, — Hard and Soft Wooded. 
— Temperature. — Summer Culture. — Re-potting. — Insects. — Rooting 
Plants. — Varieties. The Cyclamen : Potting. — Soil. — Growth. — 
Seedlings. — Varieties. 




|N the selection of our plants, we must be 
much influenced by the extent and loca- 
tion of our accommodations. Some 
plants thrive with less heat and light 
than others. As a general rule, choose 
only green-house plants, avoiding any 
usually catalogued by nurserjmen as stove 
plants. Discard ferns and lycopodia. With 
but few exceptions, these perish in the hot, dry, 
dusty air of our rooms. The Wardian case is their proper 
place. Kemember it is better to grow one plant well than 
two badly. Because you have roses, geraniums, and 
daphnes, which do well, it is no reason you should also 
grow verbenas, fuchsias, and azaleas ; your space is suffi- 
cient for the first three only ; then be content, and do not 
crowd your plants. 

Now let us first give in detail, with their treatment, a 
list of plants suitable for window gardening ; then select 
those for peculiar exposures. 



PLANTS FOB WINDOW GARDENING. 17 

THE CAMELLIA 

The camellia is a native of China or Japan, from whence 
it was introduced to British gardens about the year 1739. 
The name was given in honor of Father Kamel, a Mora- 
vian priest, whose name, Latinized, became Camellus. 

The plants first introduced were fairly killed by kind- 
ness ; an error not unfrequently repeated in our day with 
newly-discovered plants. They were planted in a stove, 
where the extreme heat soon dried the leaves and parched 
the plant. We find no further mention of the plant till 
1792, when the sirfgle red variety (Camellia Japonica) was 
introduced, and flowered profusely in a common green- 
house ; during the next year many plants of this variety 
were obtained from China ; next we find mention of the 
double red ; soon after, the fringed double white, and many 
varieties too numerous to mention. Strange to say, the 
single white was not imported till about the year 1820, and 
even now it i& not common, though a showy and free- 
blooming variety. 

The camellia, in its native country, is a shrub or small 

tree, though Mr. Fortune mentions specimens of the single 

red aa sometimes exceeding twenty feet in height, with 
2 



18 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

trunks of proportionate size. This variety is almost hardy, 
and in the Middle States wiU often endure the winter; 
we have known it to survive even our climate, when well 
protected ; all other varieties are more tender, and few will 
bear any severe frost without injury. Most of the kinds in 
our green-houses are derived from Camellia Japonica, though 
other varieties have, we believe, afforded fine seedlings» 

CULTUHE. 

The plants should be grown in light loam, or sandy peat 
and loam, say three parts. loam, two parts leaf mould, one 
part sandy peat ; fill the pots one third full of potsherds, 
to secure drainage, which is indispensable ; if the roots of 
the plant become sodden, particularly during the season of 
rest, the health of the plant is gone, and years of care may 
fail to restore its beauty, or remedy the evil caused by a 
little carelessness in watering. When in a growing state, 
you can hardly give too much water, and much good may 
be derived from frequent sprinklings or syringings ; this 
operation, however, must never be performed in sunny 
weather. One chief care in the culture of camellias is to 
keep them perfectly clean ; dust upon the foliage not only 
injures the beauty of the plant, but affects its health. The 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 19 

plants are injured by too much heat ; some hold that no 
artificial heat should be afibrded, unless necessary to keep 
off the frost ; but as we wish our camellias to bloom at a 
season when there is but little else to ornament the house, 
it is advisable to force them moderately. 

A safe rule is, never to allow the temperature to fall 
below forty degrees at night, or rise above sixty-five or 
seventy degrees during the day. The plants will thus 
expand the flowers more slowly and naturally, and there 
will be no complaint of dropping buds, imperfect flowers, 
and yellow, sickly foliage. One prime mistake in flori- 
culture is the little attention paid to uniformity of tempera- 
ture ; a ■ plant can no more preserve a healthy state when 
exposed to an atmosphere varying from thirty to one hun- 
dred degrees in a few hours, now dry and now surcharged 
with moisture, than can an animal. The progress of dis- 
ease may be more gradual, but it is sure to show itself, 
and, sooner or later, the death of the plant is the result. 
The plants, when in bloom, should be shaded, as thus the 
flowers remain in perfection much longer. Give the plants 
plenty of air at all times, but during the season of growth 
protect them from chilling draughts, which would cause the 
young leaves to curl and stunt the plant. During the 



20 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GAEDENING. 

summer, the plants should be placed in a shady, airy 
situation, out of doors ; allow room enough between the 
plants for free circulation of air; the practice of setting 
the plants in a mass, under trees, is most objectionable; 
in the first place, the drip from the branches overhead is 
injurious, and again, the pots become filled with earth- 
worms, which are often difficult to dislodge. 

Another mistake in the culture of camellias is too fre- 
quently re-potting ; while the plant should not be allowed 
to become pot-bound, too much room should not be 
afforded ; a vigorous plant will not require re-potting 
oftener than every three years; on this point there is, 
however, some difi'erence of opinion. It is a popular error 
that the wood of a camellia should not be cut ; on the 
contrary, there is scarcely a hard-wooded plant that bears 
the knife better; the plant is by nature symmetrical in 
growth, and, by judicious pruning, perfect specimens may 
easily be obtained. 

Pruning should be done after blooming, just as the plants 
begin their growth. Not more than one flower bud should 
be allowed on each terminal shoot, if size and perfection 
of flower arc required ; remove all others before the buds 
begin to swell ; if delayed longer, little advantage is gained. 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 21 

The florists' varieties of the camellia are too numerous 
to mention ; the principal colors are red, white, and rose, 
with all the intermediate shades. The Chinese profess to 
possess a yellow variety, but we believe it has never been 
imported; we have seen a variety named "yellow," the 
flowers being semi-double, and of a dirty white color. 

The following are all well-proved kinds, and may easily 
be procured of any nurseryman. In buying plants, select 
those of shrubby form, dark green foliage, without any 
places where leaves have been dropped; look well to see 
that the plant is free from scale, red spider, or mealy bug ; 
if possible, examine the roots, to ascertain if they are in 
a healthy state. 

IVhite. Alba plena, Candidissima, Myrtifolia alba, Imbricata alba, 
Fimbriata, and Oleifera. 

Rose, Rosy Pink, or Carmine. Saccoi, Henri Favre, Imbricata rubra, 
Marchioness of Exeter, Binneyii, Fultonii, Fordii, Floyii, JefFersonii, 
Landrethii, Myrtifolia, Prattii, Wilderii. 

Blush. Lady Hume's blush, Towne's blush, Pomponia. 

White, striped with Red or Rose. Feastii, Eclipse, Duchess of Or- 
leans, Mrs. Abby Wilder. 

Red, striped or marked with White. Carswelliana, Chandleri, Donck- 
elaarii, Queen Victoria, Elegans, Elphingstonia. 

Crimson. Bealii, Elata, Eximia, Lowii, Palmer's perfection, Sarah 
Frost, Wardii. 

For Seedlings. Waratah, or Anemoneflora, Tricolor, Douckelaarii, 
Simplex alba, Carnea. 



22 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

Could we have but one camellia, we would choose 
Double white or Candidissima, for white ; for blush, Lady 
Hume's blush; for crimson, Sarah Frost. 

All these are peculiarly adapted for the window. 

ORANGE AND LEMON TREES. 

These are favorites for parlor culture, and easily grown. 
Their treatment is almost identical with that required for 
the camellia : the same soil, the same temperature, and the 
same general treatment will produce success in the culture 
of both. 

But they are by no means so clean plants as the camellia, 
being very subject to scale and mealy bug. The only 
remedy is constant washing, both of the stem and leaves, 
with a weak soap-suds warm, and applied with a soft cloth. 
Grown in large tubs they do well in a parlor if kept suffi- 
ciently cool, and in summer succeed well out of doors. 

They are thirsty plants and require much water : good 
drainage is essential. From December to March they will 
make but little growth; then water moderately. About 
the first of March growth begins, succeeded by bloom ; then 
give more water. After the young growth becomes hard- 
ened, they may be set out of doors if the weather is favor- 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 23 

able. A violent wind disfigures the foliage. The young 
fruit will set in April and May, and will continue green all 
summer, coloring the next spring, and holding on the tree 
a long time. At the first approach of frost, the plants 
should be removed to their winter quarters. The lemon 
does not bloom and fruit as early as the orange, and is of 
taller growth and less fitted for the parlor : the blossoms are 
smaller and purplish outside. 

The little dwarf " Otaheite orange" is a very common 
variety, and is always noticeable for its profusion of fruit. 
The flowers are not as fine as the other kinds, though plen- 
tifully produced. The fruit is sweet, but without flavor. 

The Mandarin orange is one of the finest species (dwarf), 
and producing an abundance of fruit of the most exquisite 
flavor. Unfortunately it is not common. 

There are many other larger growing species, all of which 
produce a profusion of white flowers? exquisitely fragrant. 

Among these, the mjTtle leaved is conspicuous for its 
shining foliage, and the large shaddock for its enormous 
white flowers. The former is as symmetrical in its growth 
as the latter is tall and ungainly. 

Oranges and lemons raised from seed must attain a large 
size before they will bloom. The better plan is to graft or 



24 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

rather bud the seedling when about a year old. This 
operation is simple, but is best performed in a green-house, 
and it is therefore better to employ some neighboring florist 
to do it. Any variety may be budded on a common seed- 
ling stock. 

Oranges and lemons will live under neglect, but to grow 
and flower them to perfection, attention to details, espe- 
cially of cleanliness, is indispensable. 

THE DAPHNE. 

This plant, of which the species are numerous, never 
receives the care and attention its beauty merits. Every 
green-house contains plants of the well-known Daphne 
odorata, sometimes called D. Indica and vulgarly kno^vn 
as *' Daphne odora." It is to thia plant we intend more 
particularly to confine our attention. 

It is a gr»en-house evergreen shrub, attaining the height 
of about four feet, remarkable for its long, dark, glossy, 
green leaves, and its terminal bunches of fragrant, white 
flowers. It is one of the few old-fashioned plants which 
the modern rage for novelties has not driven entirely out of 
cultivation. It has only been thrust into the corners, and 
left to make its merits kno^vn by its beauty and fragrance. 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 25 

It is one of our most popular flowers, and as a window 
plant is unsurpassed, flourishing and blooming in situations 
where most plants would dwindle and die. 

With gardeners it is no favorite, because, as they say, 
it is too straggling, and does not form a neat plant. In 
some respects this assertion is true, for it is impossible to 
bring into good shape a plant of this variety when once 
neglected; but by beginning with a young, healthy plant, 
much may be done, and fine specimens formed. Let it be 
remembered that the daphne "breaks" easily. Prune the 
plant to a bare stump, and in a few weeks buds "will start 
from all the younger wood; therefore prune severely; 
never allow a branch to remain where it is not wanted, let 
it be as vigorous or luxuriant as it may, and never be afraid 
of pruning for fear of losing the flowers. 

The cultivation of the green-house varieties of this plant 
is almost identical with that of the camellia ; the same tem- 
perature will do for both. 

The plants should have plenty of pot room, and the pots 
be well drained. 

Potting should generally be done in the fall, about the 
time the plants are housed, when as much of the old soil 
should be removed as possible without disturbing the roots. 



26 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

The principal varieties a^e : — 

Daphne odorata, the most valuable variety from its sea- 
son of flowering, which is from December to March, accord- 
ing to the degree of heat given; leaves oWong, lanceolate, 
smooth; flowers white or pinkish, in terminal heads, pro- 
duced in great profusion. Introduced from China about 
A. D. 1770. Propagated by cuttings with great ease. It is 
one of the best parlor plants we know of, and may be 
obtained at any green-house at a very trifling expense. 

D. odorata rubra is a superior, and by no means common 
variety ; buds, red ; flowers, rosy red, with a powerful spicy 
fragrance. It is a somewhat stronger grower than the last. 

There is also a variety with variegated foliage, which is 
no less desirable, though rather scarce^ 

Daphne hyhrida is a pretty evergreen shrub, hardy in 
England, but too tender to endure our winters without 
protection ; flowers purple, produced in terminal heads and 
in lateral bunches very freely, and possessing an agreeable 
fragrance. It blooms at all seasons of the year, but espe- 
cially from January to ApriL 

The soil should be four parts loam, two of leaf mould, 
and one of sand. 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 27 

THE AZALEA. 

The Azalea Indica, or Chinese Azalea, is of Asiatic ongin. 
The varieties are innumerable ; but the most common and 
longest known variety is that from which others are but 
hybrids, Azalea Indica, 

It is a strong growing plant, with long, coarse, evergreen 
leaves, producing in clusters of three or more, at the end of 
the branches red flowers marked with dark spots. This 
plant may be grown in great perfection, and, as well as all 
the varieties, is admirably adapted for a window plant. 
The habit is shrubby, and the flowers are produced in great 
profusion. A. Indica alha has white flowers, and is a fine 
old variety. A. Indica purpurea is a variety with blossoms 
of a light purple color ; a profuse bloomer, and of rapid 
growth. There is also a double variety. A. Indica coccinea 
is bright scarlet. From these all the fine varieties of the 
green-houses have been produced. 

To grow the plants in perfection good drainage is essen- 
tial. FiU the pot one quarter full of broken potsherds, 
then fill the soil to within half an inch of the top ; soil, a 
dark peat three parts, one part of loam, one half part of 
silver sand. 



28 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

Frequent re-potting conduces to the health of the plants. 
As a general rule, re-pot when the roots run among the 
crocks at the bottom of the pot. Do not sift the soil; 
break it into small pieces. 

Frequent sjTinging is beneficial, but over-watering must 
be carefully avoided. Give full sunshine to the plant, but 
lay a little moss over the pot if the sun is very hot, to pro- 
tect the roots. 

Keep the plant about the temperature prescribed for 
camellias. 

As soon as the flowers fall growth begins. Give plenty 
of air and sun, for on this growth depends the bloom of the 
next year. It should be short, close, and the flower buds 
be set at the end of each branch. 

Set the plants out of doors in the summer, as prescribed 
for camellias. 

Azaleas may be pruned into any shape. This operation 
should be performed after the flowers have dropped, or after 
the plant has made its season's growth. 

The Azalea is subject to rottenness of the roots, produced 
by a sodden soil, the efl'ect of over-watering. The remedy 
is simple : re-pot the plant, and water moderately. Exces- 
sive dryness, the other extreme, produces yellow leaves and 
a general unhealthy appearance. 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 29 

The following varieties are of proved excellence, and very 
distinct. All will succeed in the house. 

Azalea amcena, a lovely variety ; flowers double purple ; 
produced in great profusion in midwinter. 

Indica lateritia, salmon ; Danielsiana, bright red ; PeV" 
reyana, scarlet; Murreyana, rose; Indica alba, white: 
Purpurea, purple; Coccinea, red. 

Iveryana, pink and white; Variegata, rose and white; 
Srledstanesii, white, striped with red. 

This list might be increased an hundred fold. 

THE ERICA. HEATH. 

All the plants belonging to this genus are of a low, shrub- 
by habit, with fine acicular foliage. None are natives of 
America. The fine varieties of our green-houses, with the 
exception of the common Erica Ilediterranea, are natives 
of the Cape of Good Hope, whence the gardener's term, 
" Cape Heaths." 

The erica will not thrive unless the soil is adapted to its 
peculiar nature ; this is often very difficult to learn, and 
experience must sometimes be the teacher. The soil to 
obtain is one of a friable nature, full of vegetable fibre. 
We find in an old magazine the best directions we remem- 



30 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

ber to have met in regard to choice of soil. We give them 
entire for the benefit of our readers : — 

" Heaths, like the azalea and rhododendron, make very 
small, hair-like roots ; and where these latter are growing 
naturally, will be found a good locality to collect soil for 
the artificial cultivation of the former. This soil will be 
found full of decaying organic matter. Take up a handful 
of it, and you will find a mass of thickly grown, fine fibre, 
feeling like a bunch of moss. Examine it, and you will see 
that it is chiefly composed of a black debris of leaves and 
sticks, thickly interwoven with the roots of surrounding 
vegetation. An inch or two only of the surface shoulil 
be taken ; all below that is generally inferior, the organic 
matter in it being too much decomposed. 

" Where this deposit cannot be obtained, a good substitute 
will be found in turves from old pasture, cut thin, collected 
in dry weather, and piled in a heap two or three months 
before using, so that the vegetation in it may be slightly 
decomposed. Both in its chemical and mechanical prop- 
erties such a soil is nearly all that can be wished. In pre- 
paring it, however, it is better to chop it up rather fine, 
securing a proper mechanical texture by the admixture of 
coarse sand, broken charcoal, or even a few pebbles, or 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 31 

* 
broken potsherds may be used to advantage for keeping the 

soil open, to allow free admission for atmospheric gases; 

an essential point to be kept in view in the cultivation of 

all plants, more particularly those in pots, for they are then 

entu-ely dependent on the cultivator for those conditions 

which they receive in their natural habitats. 

*' Such a soil as here recommended, kept sufficiently open 
by any of the above mentioned ingredients, is easily pene- 
trated by air, thereby increasing its temperature and facili- 
tating the decomposition of organic matter, during which 
process various healthful gases are supplied to plants." 

In either of the kinds of soil prepared as directed, heaths 
will do well. The great point to obtain is a loose, porous 
soil; for this reason the soil should always be broken, 
never sifted. 

Another requisite in heath culture, is good drainage ; 
this cannot be too strongly insisted upon ; A^dth the best of 
soil, the plants will suffer if water stagnates around the 
roots. 

Fill the pot one fourth full of crocks, and be careful the 
hole at the bottom is kept open. Never place the pot in a 
saucer or vessel of any kind, for all water not absorbed 
must be allowed to drain off. The pots should be clean 



32 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

and free from mould or dirt ; cleanliness is a point too much 
neglected. 

In some sections of our country, much difficulty is expe- 
rienced in growing heaths ; the water containing salts in 
solution which are fatal to the plant, and we know nursery- 
men who have altogether abandoned their culture. This 
seems the case in limestone countries, and we have noticed 
that heaths, of the tender varieties, when watered with 
*'hard" water, grew sickly and soon died. The best plan 
is to use only rain water, and pursuing this course no diffi- 
culty will be experienced. It is a curious fact, that in its 
native, countries, the heath is never found in a soil of which 
the substratum is lime or -chalk. In England, heaths are 
always grown apart from other plants ; with us they occupy 
the coolest part of the green-house. As a general rule, 
nothing short of frost is too cold for them, and some 
varieties will bear several degrees of frost without injury. 
In the wild state, they are distributed over a vast range of 
country, which accounts for the different temperatures the 
varieties require ; the degree of cold adapted to each, must 
be the lesson of experience. Among gardeners, heaths are 
termed hard-wooded or soft- wooded; the former make only 
a short growth each season, for example, E. Cavendishii ; 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 33 

tlie latter grow a foot or more, as E. Caffra and others. 
The two kinds require somewhat different treatment; the 
former being far more difficult to manage ; they are, how- 
ever, far more beautiful, some even dazzling from the bril- 
liancy of their flowers. Heaths require plenty of air. If 
crowded, they are subject to mildew; a disease much more 
easily prevented than cured. Air should be given, if pos- 
sible, every day ; but cold draughts should be avoided dur- 
ing the growing season. 

Though heaths are often lost during the winter by grow- 
ing them in too high a temperature, yet the greatest mor- 
tality is caused by the heat of summer. With many it is 
the custom to treat the plants as other hard-wooded plants ; 
to turn them out doors during the summer, under the shade 
of some tree. The consequence is, the pots are often 
exposed to the hot sun, the tender fibrous roots become 
parched, and the plant dies ; or else the drip from the trees 
rots the roots, producing the like result. Our experience 
has shown the best plan to be a different treatment for the 
plants according to their age. Early in June, all young 
plants should be planted out in a bed with a northern 
exposure ; there they will grow luxuriantly during the sum- 
mer. Before the September frosts, re-pot them with care, 



34 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

and winter as old plants. We have found a large bed pre- 
pared for rhododendrons and azaleas the most favorable 
place. It is sheltered from the south by a belt of white 
pines. The soil of prepared peat is suited to the wants of 
the plant, while the large foliage of the rhododendrons 
keeps the soil moist by preventing rapid evaporation. For 
the older plants, we choose a shaded spot, and prepare a 
bed of coal ashes ; slope the bottom to carry off superfluous 
moisture ; plunge the pots in the bed of ashes, and if the bed 
is exposed to the sun for any length of time, shade by an 
awning. Be careful not to crowd the plants ; a free circu- 
lation of air is essential. By this mode, the pots are never 
exposed to the rays of the sun ; the plants receive plenty of 
light without being burned, and by syringing at evening, 
and sprinkling (not pouring) water upon the pots and bed, 
a sufficiency of moisture is secured. Some varieties of the 
soft-wooded class, such as CalGfra rubra and alba, margari- 
tacea, and others, do best planted out in the full sunshine. 
The growth becomes short and stout, and the plants are 
more hardy and less liable to injury. By this course, how- 
ever, all beauty of foliage is lost, for the plants become of a 
rusty brown color, which never disappears till the leaves fall. 
Ke-potting should be done whenever the roots become 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 35 

matted or collected at the bottom or sides of the pot; 
examine to see if they are healthy; if so, give them a 
larger pot ; if not, prune oflf those which are dead, remove 
the old soil, and pot in the same size, or smaller, as the 
case may require. 

The custom with gardeners is to pot heaths in the spring, 
but the grower must be guided by the state of the plant. 

Insects give but little trouble, where proper regard is 
paid to the plants. 

Mealy-bug is sometimes found ; the best course to pur- 
sue, if the plant is badly infested, is to throw it away, for 
it is almost impossible to remove the insect ; if but slightly 
affected, pick them off, and wash the plant well with warm 
soap-suds; whale oil soap is preferable. The same rules 
apply when the plants are troubled with black or bro\\Ti 
scale. Erica arhorea is particularly subject to attacks of 
the former, and from the fine, close nature of its foliage, it 
is very difficult to clean. 

We have never known our heaths to be troubled by red 
epider or by aphis. 

In growing ericas, some attention must be paid to prun- 
ing, or rather to pinching; the plants should never be 
allowed to grow tall and spindling ; they should be grown 



36 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

near the glass, and, by frequent turning, prevented from 
becoming one-sided. Some varieties are of symmetrical 
form by nature; others require much care to control the 
too luxuriant branches. 

Heaths strike freely from cuttings. Take the tops of the 
young shoots, about an inch in length ; prepare a pot or 
pan of heath soil ; cover this with silver sand to the depth 
of half an inch ; insert the cuttings about half their length, 
as thickly as you please ; cover them with a glass, and 
frequently wipe the moisture from the inner surface of the 
glass ; keep them slightly moist, and shelter from the direct 
rays of the sun. 

When rooted, pot off the cuttings into small pots filled 
with heath soil, with the addition of a little more sand than 
is used for the old plants ; as soon as the season permits, 
plant them out to mak^ growth. In re-potting plants or 
cuttings, care should be taken never to sink the crown of 
the root lower than it was before ; rather raise than 
sink it. 

There is no plant which makes a greater show, or proves 
more attractive as a specimen, than the erica. In England, 
it is grown in the greatest perfection, some of the plants 
being twelve feet high, and eight feet in thickness. Can a 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 



37 



more superb object than such a plant be imagined, when in 
full bloom? 

From over five hundred varieties, we cannot be expected 
to give aU that are deserving of cultivation; as before 
remarked, none are destitute of beauty. The periods of 
bloom are from January to November ; indeed, we may 
have heaths in bloom every month in the year. The fol- 
lowing list contains a select variety in colors : — 

White or Light-Flowered. Arborea, Margaritacea, Grandinosa, Bow- 
ieana, Jasminiflora, Conferta, Vestita alba, Odorata, Ventricosa, Pellu- 
cida, Wilmoriana, Caffra alba. 

Red Flowers. Graoilis, Ignescens, Mediterranea, CafFra rubra. 

Scarlet or Crimson. Ardens, Cerinthoides, Hartnelli, Splendens, 
Coccinea, Vestita fulglda, Tricolor. 

Purple Flowers. Amoena, Mammosa, Melanthera mutabilis, Pro- 
pendens tubiflora. 

Lilac. Baccans, Suavolens. 

TeUow. Cavendishii, Depressa, Denticulata. 

Green-Flowered. Gelida, Viridiflora, Viridis. 

For window culture, the varieties succeeding best are 
Cafira rubra and alba, Margaritacea, Arborea, and Medi- 
terranea. 

We have been thus diffuse in treating of this plant, 
because it is a general favorite, yet never seen in good 
condition in the parlor. 



38 PLANTS FOR wmDOW GARDENING. 

The plant is very hardy, yet impatient of the least neg- 
lect. A single day's omission to water, or a drenching, 
with poor drainage, will kill the plant; yet it will lan- 
guish for months, and all your care will fail to restore it. 
If the hair-like roots once become parched or sodden, the 
plant will die. 

We do not recommend it for a window plant, yet its 
beauty is worth all the care required ; and will not some 
be fired by ambition to make the heath a window plant ? 

THE CYCLAMEN. 

This pretty flower is too little known. It is a native of 
Europe and Asia, some varieties being very abundant in 
Switzerland and Italy, and is to be found in almost every 
green-house. It is of the easiest culture. Pot about the 
latter part of November, in a rich loam, with a dash of 
silver sand ; an addition of about a spoonful of the old soot 
from a flue will increase the size and brilliancy of the 
flowers. It must be well incorporated with the soil. Bits 
of charcoal, broken fine, serve the same purpose. Place 
the crown of the bulb just above the surface of the soil. 
The size of the pot must be determined by the size of the 
bulb ; as a general rule, cyclamen do not require large pots. 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 39 

Good drainage is indispensable. Keep the plants cool till 
the leaves are well grown, always keeping them near the 
glass. When the flower buds begin to rise on the foot 
stalks, remove to a sunny shelf, where they wiU soon 
show bloom. By shading, the duration of the flowers is 
prolonged. When the bloom is past, gi*adually withhold 
water ; the leaves will turn yellov/, and the plants should 
be kept dry, in a state of rest, all summer. Do not allow 
the plants to ripen seed (which they do freely) unless you 
desire seedlings, to increase your stock. The seed germi- 
nates easily, sown in rich loam, and seedlings bloom the 
third year. Some find difficulty in preventing the shrivel- 
ling of the bulbs during the summer. Our best cultivators, 
to prevent this, bury the bulbs during the summer in the 
open border ; take them up about the middle of September, 
when they are found fresh, plump, and in good condition 
for a start. There is one risk, however, in this method : 
mice are very fond of the bulbs, and sometimes commit 
great havoc. There is shown in this plant a curious pro- 
vision of NatWe : no sooner has the flower faded, than the 
stem begins to curl up, and buries the seed capsule in the 
ground, at the root of the plant ; this is designed to pro- 
tect the seed from birds, and to sow it in a congenial soil. 



40 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

Good-sized, blooming bulbs may be obtained at any 
green-house, for from fifty cents to one dollar each for the 
more common varieties. This bulb is particularly adapted 
for window culture, and will give more flowers, with less 
trouble, and occupying less space, than any flower we are 
acquainted with. The more common varieties are C. Per- 
sicum, white, tipped with rich, rosy purple ; C. Fersicum 
album, pure white ; G. pundatum, resembling Persicum. 
All these flower from January to March. C. Europceum, 
pinkish purple ; C. Europceum album, pure white ; 0. 
hederafolium, very large, rosy purple, a splendid variety. 
All these bloom from October to January. 




Bright gems of earth, in which perchance we see 
What Eden was, what Paradise may be. 



CHAPTER III. 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 



The Geranium. The Pelargonium : History. — Culture. — Soil. — Pot- 
ting-. — Winter Treatment. — Varieties. The Verbena : History. — 
Culture. — Cuttings. — Summer Culture. — Potting for Winter. — Wa- 
tering. — Soil. — Seedlings. — Properties of a good Verbena. — Window 
Culture. — Varieties. The Heliotrope: History. — Culture. — Prun- 
ing. — Varieties. The Salvia, or Mexican Sage : Summer Culture. 

(41), 



42 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 



— Winter Culture. — Varieties. The Trop.eolum, or NASTURTiUif: 
Varieties. — Soil. — Culture. — Varieties of the small Nasturtium.— Win- 
dow Culture. 

THE GERANIUM. 

NDER this head, we propose to treat 
of the plants usually known, in com- 
mon parlance, as Geraniums, includ- 
ing both those horticulturally and 
botanically known as such, and Pelar- 
goniums. Between these there are 
many minute and fanciful distinc- 
tions, which are only interesting to 
botanists, and need not concern the 
amateur. The true geraniums are 
herbaceous. For window gardening, their treatment must 
be the same. 

For the pelargoniums, we are chiefly indebted to the 
Cape of Good Hope ; the geranium is found, in some of its 
varieties, in Asia, Europe, and America ; two of the family, 
our " wild geraniums," being familiar to us all as among 
the wild flowers of spring. 

The scarlet, or horse-shoe geranium, so called from the 
color of its flowers, and the dark marking of its leaves, is 
a very common and popular window plant. The rose, oak, 
8* 




PLANTS FOB WINDOW GARDENING. 43 

anjd nutmeg geraniums are commonly gro^vn for their fra- 
grant leaves, and for their hardiness, as they can endure 
more hard usage than most plants. 

The general fault in geranium culture is, crowding. The 
plants need light and air on all sides, and unless this is 
afiforded they soon become one-sided, long-drawn, and strag- 
gling, with but few leaves, and these in a tuft at the end. 
The blossoms are small and few, and the whole plant pre- 
sents a picture of vegetation under difficulties. 

The fine varieties of pelargonium, called "Fancies" by 
florists, it is useless to attempt to grow to any perfection in 
the house. They need constant care; and the rules for 
growing them as specimens, laid do\vn by English florists, 
are sufficiently confusing and contradictory to involve the 
amateur in a maze of difficulty. 

Light, air, and cleanliness are the three primary rules for 
growing geraniums. The horse-shoe and high-scented vari- 
eties are not troubled by insects. The pelargoniums (large- 
flowered geraniums), require constant attention to keep 
them free from the green fly, which increases upon them 
with wonderful rapidity. If the weather is warm, and the 
plants at all afi'ected by the fly, they should be smoked once 
ia ten days, and frequently syringed. Surely the beauty of 



44 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

the flowers will compensate for any trouble. To prevent 
*' drawing," that is, the growing of the plants towards the 
light, all geraniums should be frequently turned, which will 
give a well-proportioned plant. If the plants grow too taU, 
pinch out the top ; all the axillary buds will then break 
into lateral branches. Again, if the side branches become 
too close, prune them out fearlessly. The geranium breaks 
easily, and you need never be afraid of killing the plant, 
even if you prune it down to a bare stump. 

Soil. 

Pelargoniums and geraniums require a strong soil ; that 
is, good sound loam, such as will grow melons. The top 
of a pasture will answer well. Let it be carted home and 
laid up in a long ridge, so as to expose as large a surface to 
the air as possible. Keep it clear of weeds, and let it be 
turned over every little while. To two parts of this loam, 
add one part of two-year-old cow dung, well turned over. 
Old hot-bed dung will do nearly, but not quite as well. 
Then add about one part of river sand and bits of charcoal, 
mixed. Let all these ingredients be kept in separate heaps 
till wanted for potting, then mix them in the above propor- 
tions, and use them moderately dry. This compost should 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GAKDENING. 45 

be used to bloom and grow the plants in. For the winter 
season, use a small quantity of leaf mould instead of dung. 
Fresh soil is always to be preferred, for old soil is apt to 
become cloddy and sour. 

Potting. 

All being ready, put the drainage in a suitable sized pot. 
Place first a suitable crock, or a large oyster shell over the 
hole ; then lay a few large crocks upon that, and smaller 
upon those, so that the drainage may occupy about three 
fourths of an inch. Place a thin layer of moss upon the 
drainage, and upon that a sprinkling of soot or charcoal 
dust; after that a thin layer of the rougher parts of the 
compost, and finally a layer of soil. Then turn the plant 
out of the old pot, pick out the old drainage, and loosen 
part of the old roots, spreading them over the new soil as 
much as possible. Then see that the collar of the rdbts is 
just below the rim of the pot, and fill in around the ball 
with the fresh soil, pressing it down gently as it is put in. 
When the pot is full, give it a smart stroke or two upon the 
bench to settle the soil; level it neatly, leaving it about 
half an inch below the rim of the pot. This finishes the 
potting. Then give a good watering of tepid water. 



46 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

For four or five weeks, while new roots are running into 
the fresh soil, they will not need a large supply of water ; 
but when the roots reach the sides of the pots, and the 
leaves and shoots are advancing in growth, then water will 
be required in abundance. 

They should never be allowed to flag. 

After a hot, sunny day, let the plants, in addition to the 
water at the roots, have a gentle syringing. Exercise dis- 
cretion, however, on this point. 

The geranium is a spring and summer blooming plant. 
It is very difficult to obtain a flower from December to 
April ; therefore, during the winter it should be kept cool, 
and moderately dry. 

About the first of February re-pot the plants, give more 
heat, sun, and water, and your plants will bloom profusely 
in May. 

The varieties grown only for their leaves may have more 
generous culture during the winter months. 

Varieties. 

Ivy-leaved geranium (P. lateripes), is a pretty trailing 
species, with ivy-shaped leaves and purple flowers in the 
summer. There is also a variety with white flowers. It is 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 



47 



a pretty window plant, and always does well. It needs 
plenty of light, sun, and generous culture. 

The varieties of horse-shoe geraniums (P. zonale hybrids), 
are all good window flowers, and will often bloom in winter. 
The following are the best old varieties : — 

Scarlet. Dazzle, Toia Thumb, Defiance. 

Cerise, Cerise unicLue. 

Pink. Rosa mundi^ 

White. Boule de Neige, Lady Turner. 

Variegated Leaved. Flower of the Day, Golden Chain, Alma, Bijou. 

These latter varieties need a green-house to develop the 
rich colors of the foliage, yet they do well as bedding plants 
in the summer. 

P. graveolens is the common rose geranium. 

THE VERBENA. 

There are few plants which lend more beauty to the 
flower garden in summer, or enliven the green-house in 
the winter and early spring months in a greater degree, than 
the verbena. From the variety of colors, the rapidity of 
propagation, the little care needed to bloom the plant in per- 
fection, and the abundance of blossoms, it is, and always 
must remain, a universal favorite. 



48 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

In addition to these advantages, the facility with which 
new varieties are raised from seed, render it a favorite with 
the amateur; and in no collection do we fail to find the 
verbena, in some of its many varieties. 

It is a difficult task to prescribe the culture of a plant so 
well known, and which will grow and flourish under such a 
variety of circumstances, and in such different situations. 
As every one has grown verbenas, each has his own peculiar 
mode of treatment, if, indeed, a flower requiring so little 
care can be said to have peculiar treatment. 

In writing of a plant, from which seedlings are produced 
with such ease, and which sports into such an infinite 
variety of colors and shades, we cannot be too careful in 
expressing a decided opinion. Every year new seedlings 
are " brought out," and latterly the varieties have so mul- 
tiplied that it is very difficult to choose those really worthy 
of cultivation : the favorite of this spring may, after a year's 
trial, be cast aside as worthless, for it may not be found 
worthy of general cultivation, or better varieties may have 
been originated. 

Our verbena was introduced into England firom Buenos 
Ayres, where it is indigenous, by Mr. Hugh Gumming, an 
ardent lover of nature, about the year 1825. 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 49 

The first, and for a long time the only variety cultivated, 
was Verbena melindres, or chamcedrifolia ; but it now 
appears lost among the new and superior kinds which have 
been raised from seed. In form, it has been repeatedly 
excelled, but its creeping habit and abundance of bloom 
must always recommend it, though we doubt if at the 
present time it can be obtained at any of our green-houses, 
and probably few of our younger cultivators have ever seen 
this once popular variety. The color is scarlet, and though 
perhaps equalled, can never be excelled. Many other 
earlier varieties might be mentioned, but, although interest- 
ing, it would too much extend the limits of this article. 

Verbena multifida, with lilac purple flowers, was intro- 

» 
duced from Peru ; Verbena Tweediana, with rose crimson 

flowers, from Brazil; and from these, and a few other 

varieties and seedlings, have sprung all the numerous 

Tarieties, many hundred in number, which may be found in 

extensive collections. The credit of introducing this plant 

into the United States belongs to Robert Buist, of PhHa- 

delphia. About the year 1835, from seed received from 

Buenos Ayres, he raised the first white, pink, and crimson 

verbenas. The plant soon became generaUy kno^vn, and 

was every where a favorite ; in the floral world it caused 
4 



50 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

quite an excitement, and the original kinds were soon sur- 
passed, in every respect, by newer seminal varieties. 

The culture of the verbena is very simple. The plants 
will bloom with very little care, but to grow them in perfec- 
tion requires attention ; of thousands of plants of any size, 
scarcely one is a fine specimen. Let us, beginning in early 
spring, trace the plant, as generally grown, and then see 
how much a little care might increase its beauty. 

About the first of February, cuttings of the young shoots 
are taken from old plants : in a sandy loam, a few weeks, 
and sometimes a few days, wiU sufiice to root them ; they 
are then potted off into thumb pots, and, if placed near the 
glass, will soon show a terminal flower. As soon as the 
season is sufficiently advanced, these young plants are bed- 
ded out, and, in favorable seasons, soon form a conspicuous 
feature in the flower garden, continuing to bloom till long 
after the early frosts. About the first or middle of Septem- 
ber, the gardener begins to re-pot his plants for winter, and 
the common practice is to take a runner, which has rooted 
well at a joint, and, after suitable pruning, to pot it for 
winter blooming and propagation. Others, again, take up 
the old roots, while others, by sinking pots in their verbena 
bed, about midsummer, allowed the runners to root directly 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 51 

in the pots ; the pots being taken up, and the connection 
with the mother plant cut, the young plant receives no 
injury or check. But this mode is very objectionable, for 
two reasons : first, the loam in the pots is apt to become 
sour and sodden; and again, earthworms often enter the 
pots, and prove injurious during the winter. The plants 
are housed, and, for a long time, produce no flowers, and 
are any thing but ornamental. Soon after the new year, 
they begin to grow vigorously, but are allowed to trail care- 
lessly over the staging, or droop from some hanging shelf. 
No care or attention is bestowed upon them, except to give 
the daily supply of water. 

The days grow towards spring. Cuttings are again taken 
off; the same process is repeated year after year ; and thus 
one of our loveliest flowers, which, with a little care, might 
be one of the greatest attractions and ornaments of our 
green-houses, is never seen in perfection, except in the 
garden. 

That this is the fact, is to be deplored ; yet the remedy 
is simple. By beginning about midsummer, we may have 
verbenas in bloom as well during the winter as the spring 
months. About the first of August, or earlier, cuttings 
should be taken from desirable varieties. In a fortnight 



52 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

they will be ready to transplant. Pot them in thumb pots, 
and re-pot as soon as the roots touch the sides of the pot. 
Keep them in vigorous growth by affording plenty of light 
and air, being careful they never suj0fer from want of water. 
Pinch oS the leading shoots, to cause all axillary buds to 
break, and in no case allow them to bloom. Train the 
plant in any form desired, but be careful not to permit it to 
grow too straggling. When other plants are housed, 
remove your verbenas to some warm shelf, where they may 
have the morning sun, and on every favorable day give 
plenty of air, and fumigate well to destroy green aphis. 
Your plants will soon be in luxuriant bloom, long before 
those potted in the common way have shown a bud, and 
will continue to afford an abundance of flowers until late in 
the spring. To grow verbenas well in the house in summer 
is far easier. They may be bloomed iii pots of any size, 
and trained in almost any form, the only requisites being 
plenty of light and air, careful pruning, and means to 
destroy aphis and keep off mildew. 

One great fault in growing verbenas is the practice of 
watering too copiously. The plant, as originally found, 
grows on dry hills ; and damp not only produces mildew, 
but rots the roots, and thus destroys or produces disease in 
the plant. 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 53 

The proper soil for verbenas, is two parts of loam, two of 
leaf mould, with an admixture of sand, and in this we have 
found them grow and bloom luxuriantly. 

Many verbenas, which for green-house blooming are 
unsurpassed, are worthless for bedding purposes ; the petal 
of the flower being too thin, or the color fading or changing. 
Again, some bloom well in winter, others far better in sum- 
mer ; some form large masses and flower well, others are of 
rambling growth and poor bloomers ; some of creeping, 
others of more upright habit; while a few possess every 
desirable quality ; and in making a selection, all these prop- 
erties are to be considered. 

We have said that seedlings were produced with great 
ease. The verbena seeds well where the plants have not 
been too long propagated by cuttings. A long-continued 
propagation by cuttings seems to diminish the power of the 
plants to produce seed, and, as a general rule, the further 
removed a plant is from a seedling, the less the chance of 
its perfecting good seed. The seeds may be so-vvn in a hot- 
bed or green-house, early in spring, and the plants, when 
about an inch and a half high, pricked out in the border ; 
it is a good plan to pinch out the leading shoot, as thus the 
plants branch and become stronger; the plants grow 
rapidly, and soon show bloom. 



54 PLANTS FOB WINDOW GARDENING. 

But to raise a seedling is one thing, to raise a fine seed- 
ling, a far diflferent. Of many hundred raised in the course 
of the last few years, by the writer, not more than half a 
dozen have been worthy of preservation, and only one (and 
that produced by chance) really a first-class fiower. 

In raising seed, much may be done to insure its quality 
by planting fine varieties together, and allowing them to 
intertwine, then gathering the seed from these plants. No 
rule can be laid down to obtain any desired color, for the 
seedlings sport infinitely. We can only approximate 
towards definite results; thus, if we plant Annie (white) 
and Robinson's Defiance (red) together, the seedling will be 
likely to be pink. 

The flowers of the verbena are of every color and shade, 
except light blue, which color has never been obtained. A 
good yellow verbena has not yet been produced. There is 
a miserable variety, with a small tiniss of dirty yellow 
flowers. The writer, some years since, by a curious process 
of watering and fertilization with a white verbena, obtained 
a seedling, which proved, on blooming, to be of a light straw 
color ; the plant was weak and sickly, and died before cut- 
tings could be taken. Since that time he has tried the 
experiment often, but never with any successful result. 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 55 

The qualities of a first-class verbena, as laid down by 
florists, are : roundness of flower, without indenture, notch, 
or serrature ; petals thick, flat, bright and smooth ; the 
plant should be compact, with short, strong joints, either 
distinctly of a shrubby habit, or a close, ground creeper or 
climber ; the trusses of bloom, compact, standing out from 
the foliage, the flowers meeting, but not crowding each 
other; the foliage should be short, broad, bright, and 
enough to hide the stalk ; in the eyed and striped varieties, 
the colors should be well defined and lasting, never running 
into each other, or changing in the sun. 

As a window plant, there is nothing that will give more 
bloom than a verbena. Let it be trained on a trellis, and 
give it all the sun possible ; the more sun, the more bloom. 
Pinch the shoots, to prevent its becoming too rambling, and 
give air enough, and your work is done. 

The production of seedlings, as above directed, is a very 
pretty amusement, and very simple. Seedlings wiU bloom 
in three months, from the seed. 

Verbenas may be grown to advantage in the garden, 
either in masses, as single plants, or upon rock-work ; many 
pretty efi'ects may be produced by a careful arrangement of 



56 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

colors ; they are also well adapted for hanging pots and for 
vases, in which they will bloom profusely- 

There is no flower which, if properly grown, will better 
repay the care required, and none which will show so well 
with but little attention, and we trust that these few 
remarks may lead to a more careful cultivation of this beau- 
tiful plant. 

THE HELIOTROPE. 

This plant is always admired for its fragrance, and will 
ever be a favorite for window culture. 

It is a native of Peru, and has been in our gardens since 
the year 1757. 

The details of culture are similar to those prescribed for 
the verbena ; the soil should be strong loam, with a little 
Band and manure. 

The heliotrope is seldom grown as well as it should be. 
It should have frequent re-pottings, and be allowed to grow 
large. We have seen them in parlors, in large tubs on 
wheels, and eight feet high. Such plants are in themselves 
bouquets of beauty, being always covered with flowers. 
Train the main stems of the plant to a trellis, and let the 
branches droop naturally, and as they will gracefully. The 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 57 

plant bears the knife well, and breaks freely, so it can be 
trained into any shape. 

The common variety is H. cQrymhosum, then the oldest, 
S^. Peruvianum ; H. VoUerianum is a fine dark variety, 
but not so strong growing. 

Florists' catalogues contain many varieties, but the above 
are the best for general culture. 

THE *SALVIA. 

This plant is only valuable as a window plant in summer 
and early autumn. The chief variety cultivated is the Scarlet 
Mexican Sage {S. splendens), introduced from Mexico about 
forty years ago. It is a rank growing shrub, with long, 
jointed stalks, cro\vned with rich, scarlet flowers. The best 
way to grow it is to set the plant in rich soil in the garden 
in spring. It will grow vigorously. About the last of 
September pot it (it transplants easily), shade it for a few 
days, then remove it to a sunny window, where it wiU 
delight you with its brilliant blossoms for two months. 
Then keep it cool until spring, and repeat the operation 
until the plant becomes so large as to be unmanageable ; 
then spring cuttings must be taken ofif and rooted. 



5S PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

The proper soil is, three parts loam, one leaf mould, 
one manure, with a sprinkling of sand. 

Salvia patens is an exquisite blue flowered variety. It 
blooms well in the garden in summer, and the fleshy roots 
may be preserved like a dahlia through the winter. 

There are many other fine varieties. 

THE TROP^OLUM. 

This flower, from its earliest discovery and introduction, 
has been a popular favorite. As year by year newer varieties 
have been discovered, or finer seedlings raised from old 
favorites, it has steadily advanced in favor, till now, the 
rich man's choicest green-house and the poor man's garden 
alike boast some of the varieties of this beautiful plant. In 
the limits of a short article, like the present, it will be 
impossible, of course, to give a detailed description, or even 
to mention all the varieties ; many are only desirable in a 
collection, being of inferior beauty; while others are rare, 
or of difficult culture, and therefore found only in the green- 
houses of amateurs. 

The difierent varieties of tropseolum divide themselves 
into three distinct classes. First, those with bulbous, or 
rather tuberous roots, such as Tropceolum azureum and 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 59 

others. Second, those with large, round leaves, and large 
showy, often coarse, flowers, as the various varieties of Tro- 
pceolum majus. Third, those with small, delicate, regu- 
larly-formed flowers, with smaller leaves, and more of climb- 
ing rather than trailing habit, such as T. Lohhianum. 
We are aware that this division is imperfect; that some 
varieties partake of the characteristics of more than one 
class, and that others are Avith difficulty included in any of 
the three ; and to any one acquainted with all the different 
varieties, the difficulty of classification will be at once 
apparent. We shall, therefore, only attempt this general 
division ; leaving a particular description to be gi-ven when 
we treat of each variety. The soil to be used in the culture 
of the tropseolum is, for the bulbous varieties, leaf-mould 
and peat, with an admixture of fine sand ; for the other 
classes, an addition of more sand is to be advised, as care 
must be taken not to enrich the soil too highly, for in a rich 
soil, with plenty of room to develop the roots, the plants are 
apt to run all to leaves. This may be prevented in two 
ways, either by giving a poor soil, or by allowing the roots 
to become " pot-bound," and nourishing the plant by slight 
waterings of liquid manure ; they generally fail to give 
satisfaction if the soil is close, heavy, and binding. All 



60 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

the varieties, we believe, are readily propagated by cuttings, 
and many produce seed in abundance. Some succeed better 
if allowed to trail on the ground ; others are so delicate as 
to need constant attention and careful training. Some ' are 
hardy in England, though to our knowledge none have ever 
been able to survive our severe winters in the open ground, 
or protected in frames. All the varieties are of the most 
rapid growth, and are mostly free flowerers ; none are desti- 
tute of some beauty, while the greater number are remark- 
able for the combinations of dazzling colors which they 
afford. The prevailing color is yellow in its different 
shades ; next, red ; then dark ; and lastly, a most extraor- 
dinary fact, which puzzled the botanists, a beautiful blue. 
It had been asserted and argued, with great show of reason, 
that a flower, of which all the known varieties, or the gen- 
eral types, were of red, yellow, or cognate colors, could, by 
no possibility, be found related to a plant with blue flowers, 
or could there be a blue flowering plant in the same class. 
The discovery of a blue tropseolum, in 1844, completely 
refuted this theory. In the treatment of the tropseolum, it 
is essential for the good health of the plants that they 
should enjoy plenty of light and air ; without this, they can- 
not fail to become sickly or unsightly from faded leaves and 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 61 

Bmall flowers. A supply of water should be given with the 
S}Tinge, overhead, occasionally, which will conduce to the 
Tigor of the plant, and destroy the red spider, which some- 
times attacks the leaves. The plant, in all its varieties, is 
remarkably free from disease or insects ; we have occasion- 
ally had the more delicate varieties troubled by gi-een fly, 
and by mealy bug, but very little care will prevent this. 
The chief danger seems to lie in the decajdng of the roots 
by over-watering when in growth, or by not withholding 
water when they are in a state of rest. These remarks, of 
course, apply only to the bulbous varieties. Sometimes we 
have known the roots of the summer-blooming varieties to 
be attacked by the root aphis, but this is unfrequent. The 
foliage is of too fiery a taste to be subject to the attacks of 
insects. 

With these few remarks we will proceed to the descrip- 
tion of the different varieties, noting any peculiarity in the 
habits of each, or any peculiar mode of culture which may 
be best adapted to its nature. 

The oldest and best kno^vn variety is Trop-soliim majits, 
the common nasturtium of our gardens — a native of Peru, 
but very early introduced. This occurs in a variety of 
colors, and under a variety of names. The colors are 



62 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

chiefly red, yellow, very dark, and all the intermediate 
shades; or, again, red upon yellow in s^Dots, shadings, 
stripes, or bands, or yellow upon red or dark ground. 
Scarce two flowers, unless self-colored, will be found alike, 
and there is no prettier sight than a flower bed filled with 
this variety, the various colored flowers contrasting finely 
with the large round leaves. At any seed store, varieties 
may be obtained ; and by a little care in planting the seeds, 
a beautiful efi'ect may be produced. This species is of the 
easiest culture, and will grow almost without care ; it is 
well adapted for covering rock-work, or any unsightly spot, 
producing from the latter part of June until killed by the 
frost, a constant succession of brilliant flowers and orna- 
mental foliage. All the varieties of this species are annual, 
and are propagated either by seeds, which are freely pro- 
duced, or by cuttings of half-ripened wood, which root freely 
in sand. 

Teopjeolijm majus atkosanguixeum is only a very fine 
variety, as its name implies, of the above. It was intro- 
duced into England as early as the year 1684. The 
required soil is light and rich ; it flowers freely ; increased 
by seeds and cuttings. 

It would be useless to attempt a description of the 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 63 

varieties of Tropceolum majus ; so constantly do they 
change, that each year, as newer seedlings are produced, 
the older are forgotten and lost. All are well worthy of 
cultivation, and some of the varieties should be in every 
garden. We have seen a double variety, but it was evi- 
dently a mere sport, which was only propagated and pre- 
served as a curiosity in a collection ; the colors were con- 
fused, and the blossom destitute of beauty. 

We pass now to the varieties of TropcEolum minus, being 
those comprised in our last class, and seemingly only 
reduced specimens of Tropceolum majus. We have seen it 
stated that this variety was introduced before Tropceolwm 
majus, but we believe the best authorities agree on the 
latter being the oldest known variety. Be this as it may, 
both were known in Europe at a very early period. The 
, plants of Tropceolum minus, and its varieties, may always 
be distinguished from those of Tropceolum majus, and its 
varieties, by the leaves ; in the former, the nerves of the 
leaves always end in a point, which is never the case with 
those of the latter. 

Teopjeolxjm Lobbianum, sometimes called T. peltoplio- 
rum. One of the very finest ; first collected by Mr. Lobb, 
in Columbia. A rampant grower, and free flowerer in the 



64 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

green-house; color of flowers, orange scarlet. The tem- 
perature of the house to bloom it well, should be kept 
about fifty degrees ; a slight watering of liquid manure should 
occasionally be given. It does not succeed well with us in 
the open border ; our summers are too short, and the plants 
are apt to be nipped by the frost just as they are fully set 
with flower buds ; it strikes freely from cuttings, and pro- 
duces seed sparingly. Most of our flne, new varieties are 
probably hybrids between this and the following. 

Teop^oliim pulcherrimum. Like the last, a rampant 
grower ; color of flowers, bright yellow, with starry rays of 
orange scarlet at the base of the petal ; a free flowerer in 
the green-house. Culture like the last. 

Tuop^OLTJM Smithii. A brilliant red variety, a native 

of the high mountains of Columbia ; treat as T, majus ; 

will bloom well in the open border. 

t 
Teop^oltjm Randii. a very fine seedling of Mr. 

Joseph Breck's ; a very vigorous grower ; the writer has, in 

one summer, had one side of a large green-house covered by 

a small plant. This variety has the desirable property of 

blooming equally well as a border plant in the summer and 

in the green-house in winter. The color of the flower is 

brilliant yellow ; the base of each petal marked with a 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 65 

round black spot ; the flowers are often veined with purplish 
red, sometimes very deeply, and, from a large plant, often 
dozens of blossoms, all of dijfferent shades, may be gathered; 
this is particularly the case in the green-house ; in the bor- 
der, the colors are more constant. This is probably from 
its abundant flowers and free habit, the most popular 
variety of its color, among gardeners for bouquet purposes, 
and, though of comparatively recent introduction, is very 
widely disseminated. Propagated by cuttings ; produces 
seed sparingly. 

Trop^olum peeiguinum, adijncum, cr Canariexse, 
commonly known as canary-bii'd flower. A very lovely and 
popular variety ; grows about ten feet high, and blooms well 
if the soil is not too rich. It is commonly cultivated as a 
summer border plant, but will bloom well in the green- 
house. To this end, plants should be struck during the 
summer, and grown with plenty of light and an* ; let the 
soil be loam, and well rotted manure, with a little sand ; 
do not give the roots too much pot room, and water occa- 
sionally with liquid manure. Plants may also be raised 
from seed, but they flower less freely than those struck from 
cuttings. This lovely variety is too well known to need 
description. 

5 



6Q 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 



We have been thus diffuse in treating of this plant, 
because it is the best climbing window plant we have. 
Give it sun, and it will be a mass of bloom all winter. A 
pretty way is to train it up the side and across the window 
on strings. Do not, however, give it a very large pot, or it 
will all run to leaves. It should also have a sandy soil. 





.... All Eden bright, 
these, her holy ofifspring, creations of the light ; 
As though some gentle angel, commissioned love to bear. 
Had vrandered o'er the greensward, and left her footprints 
there. 



CHAPTER IV. 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING, CONTINUED. 



Roses. China Rose: History.— DeBcription. — Soil. — Pruning-. — Wa- 
tering. — Varieties. Tea Rose : History. — Culture. — Varieties. 
Bourbon Roses : History. — Culture. — Varieties. Pinks : Indian 
Pink. -Carnation.- Difference between Carnation and Picotee.— Classes. 
— Soil. — Potting. — Care of Flowers. — Culture out of doors. — Prop- 



(67) 



68 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 



agation. — Layers. — Pipings. — List of Carnations and Picotees. Fuch- 
sias : History. — Growth. — How to direct it. — Wintering. — Soil. — 
Varieties. 



N continuing our list of plants adapt- 
ed for window gardening, we come 
to tlie queen of flowers, the Rose. 
A book, rather than a portion of 
a chapter, should be devoted to this 
flower ; but as our space is limited, we must 
with a word, dismiss the large divisions of 
June, Hardy or Hybrid Perpetuals, Pro- 
vence, Damask, Galic, Moss, Climbing, Austrian, 
Noisette, and Banksian Roses, each of which would require 
a separate treatise, and confine ourselves to the China, 
Bourbon, and Tea families. 

Many of the others are of great value for the green- 
house, some being, in our climate, purely green-house 
roses, and others being invaluable for forcing; but none 
succeed with parlor culture, though many are well known 
in the garden, and may claim more than a passing mention 
when we come to the concluding portion of our book, 
the Flower Garden and Shrubbery. 




PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 69 

CHINA ROSE. 

And, first, the China rose. While treating of paren- 
tage, we may also include the tea rose, which, with the 
China, comes from the same ancestor, the Rosa Indica and 
its varieties. From this stock come all the China and tea- 
scented roses, which, by skilful hybridization, are now so 
multiplied that already their name is legion. Prop- 
erly speaking, the three roses which are the oldest, and 
may be considered parents of the race, are Bosa Indica, 
the common Chinese rose, B. semperflorens, the crimson or 
sanguinea rose, and B. odorata, the Chinese or sweet- 
scented tea rose^ 

The China rose and its hybrids are usually stout growing, 
and sometimes of a close, twiggy habit. With us they 
will not endure the winter without protection, but south of 
Baltimore, stand out uninjured. 

They are the common rose of window gardening, and 
are known as "monthly roses." The colors vary from 
white to deep crimson or red, running through all the 
shades of blush and pink. 

They are often exposed for sale in early spring at the 
corners of streets and in the market places, every little 



70 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

shoot being crowned with a bud or flower. The foliage is 
generally smooth, glossy, and fine cut, clothing every little 
twig, and of a lively, fresh appearance. 

It will survive almost any treatment, and will live if but 
a ray of sunlight can reach it. It is the poor man's friend, 
and clings to him in every vicissitude ; yet, while possess- 
ing adaptability to circumstances in a remarkable degree, 
no plant will better repay care and attention. Cleanliness, 
washing, and syringing are essential to good health ; give 
plenty of light, and it will repay you by abundance of 
bloom. Though as its common names (daily or monthly 
rose) imply, it will not bloom every day, yet there will sel- 
dom be a day when it will not have a flower or a bud 
upon it. It will ask you, too, for an occasional smoking ; 
for the green fly is very fond of the delicate juices of its 
young shoots, and this indeed of all roses. 

Do not give it too large a pot. Roses will do well in 

smaller pots, in proportion to their size, than almost any 

other plant. 

Soil. 

Yet the soil must be rich and well mixed. It should 
consist of four parts of the richest black loam, or leaf 
mould, two parts of weU-rotted manure, with a slight ad- 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 71 

mixture of fine sand. This soil should not be sifted, but 
lumpy, yet well mixed together. 

In potting, as much of the old soil as can be taken off 
without breaking the roots, should be removed, and the 
plant set just up to the neck or collar, on. the new soil; 
settle the earth well around the plant, and give a gentle 
watering from the fine rose of a watering pot. Pruning 
should be done as required ; the eyes will break any where ; 
therefore, whenever a branch becomes too long or un- 
sightly, cut it in; there need be no fear of injuring the 
plant. 

If they have been planted out in the garden during the 
summer, on removal to the house in the autumn they will 
need a severe pruning.. Cut off the young Avood to within 
a few inches of the old wood, and give the plants a little 
rest, by giving less water and little heat ; when you wish 
them to bloom, bring them into full sunlight, give more 
heat, and, as soon as the young branches have begun to 
push, give plenty of water. Every eye will produce a 
shoot, crowned with one or more buds ; after blooming, 
shorten in the blooming branches about one half; new eyes 
will push, and a second display of bloom be the result. In 
watering roses, care must be taken not to render the soil 



72 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

cold and sodden; water should never stand round the 
roots ; frequent stirring of the surface of the soil is very 
beneficial. A few bits of charcoal, broken fine and mixed 
with the earth, will impart the richest brilliancy to the 
flowers. 

The following list of China roses will be found to include 
the best old varieties. New hybrids are constantly pro- 
duced, and all of this class make good window plants. 
China roses are called, also " Bengal " roses. 

List of China Boses. 

1. Agrippinay or Cramoisi Superieur. Rich, velvety crimson, very 
double. 

2. La Superhe. Purple crimson, very double, flowers always opening 
well. 

3. Eels Blush. A profuse bloomer; flowers large and double, resem- 
bling a tea rose. 

4. Indica, or Common Daily. Dark blush or rose color ; free grower 
and profuse bloomer. This is the common "monthly rose." 

6. Indica Alba. A white variety of the last, of more slender growth, 
but double and free flowering. 

6. A dwarf form of R. Tndica, called " Fairy Rose" Tom Thumb, 
Lawrsn'-eana, is a pretty little miniature rose, very double, and about as 
large as a dime or half dime. 

7. Mrs. Bousnnquet. Creamy blush, very fine ; by some classed as a 
Bourbon, which it seems to be. It is very distinct from other Chinas. 

•8. Semperflorens, or ^^ Sanguitiea." Very double; cupped; rich 
crimson. Every where grown and appreciated. 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 73 

9. Jacksonia. Bright red, very double. 

10. Louis Philippe. Dark crimson; globular. 

11. Eugene Hardy. White, changing to blush. 

12. Eugene Beauharnais. Bright amaranth, very fine form, and 
fragrant. 

There are many others which may bo found in florists' 
catalogues. 

For one rose for bloom, choose No. 8 ; for two, Nos. 8 
and 3 ; for three, Nos. 8, 3, and 12; for four, add No. 4; 
for five, add No. 2 ; for six. No. 9 or 1 . 

TEA ROSES. 

The original rose (i?. odorata) was only introduced about 
1812, and from this have sprung our many fine varieties. 
The treatment required is identical with that of the China 
rose ; yet a richer soil, and more heat and light, may be 
afforded to advantage. The former is easily done by in- 
creasing the proportion of manure in potting. 

They also need more care, and are not so patient under 
neglect. For summer bedding in the garden, they are un- 
surpassed. Usually their growth is more delicate and 
graceful than that of the China varieties. 

The following list includes some of the best varieties, 
which may be relied upon for window or garden growth. 



74 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

They will not bear our winters unprotected. This list 
may be multiplied fourfold from catalogues; — 

1. Adam. Bright pink ; large aud cupped. 

2. Comte de Paris. Creamy rose ;i large and fine. 

■ 3. Caroline. Bright, rosy pink or flesh-colored ; large and very fine. 

4. Gloire de Dijon. Yellow, shaded with salmon and rose ; an im- 
mense flower; very full ; not always opening well with -window culture; 
by some, considered a " Bourbon." 

5. Clara Sylvain. Pure white ; double ; very fragrant. 

6. Yellow Tea. Pale yellow ; long, beautiful bud ; very fine. 

7. Elise Sauvage. Bright yellow, fading to white ; large and fine. 

8. Madame Desprez. White ; very fragrant. 

9. Safrano. Fawn color or saffron ; sometimes rosy ; not vexy 
double, but fine in the bud. 

10. Triomphe de Luxembourg. Buff" salmon, shading to rose. 

11. Souvenir d\in Ami. Rose and salmon ; fine. 

12. Gouhault Rose. Yellow centre ; large and fine. 

13. Le Pactole. Lemon yellow ; very fine. 

14. Boug^re. Browzy, rosy lilac ; a strong grower. 

15. Odorata. Fine blush, well cupped. 

16. Bon Silene. Rosy salmon. 

For one rose of this class, for window culture, we should select 
No. 15; then add No. 9, No. 12, No. 14, No. 5, No. 2, No. 1. 

BOURBON ROSES. 

The union of the Damask Perpetual with the China rose 
has produced the new and distinct race known as Bour- 
bons. Thej have a peculiar habit and foliage, are free, 
vigorous growers, and much hardier than the China rose. 
In the Middle States, they are perfectly hardy, and will 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GABDENING. 75 

endure our winters mth but slight protection. As bedders, 
they are unsurpassed, and bloom during the whole summer. 
They are usually wintered in frames, like the China and 
tea roses. For window gardening, they are not as suitable 
as those species, yet their beauty renders them worthy of a 
permanent place, where space can be given, and for green- 
house and conservatory blooming, they are magnificent. 

Their treatment is identical with that of th6 species 
above described. 

The following are fine varieties : — 

Bouquet de Flore. Light, rosy carmine. 

Dr. Roque. Purplish crimson. 

Gloire de Dijon. See tea roses. 

Madame Desprez. See tea roses. 

Dupetit Thouars. Bright crimson ; very showy. 

Leveson Gower. Deep rose ; very large. 

Souvenir de la Malmaison. Pale flesh color, very large and fine. 

Queen of Bourbons. Fawn-colored blush ; a free bloomer. 

Sir Joseph Paxton. Deep rose ; very fine. 

Paul Joseph. Purplish violet. 

Hermosa. Light blush or rose color ; very fine form. 

George Psahody. Dark, velvety crimson. 

Mrs. Bosanquet. Pale flesh color ; good form ; very fine. 

The most satisfactory method of growing roses is to 
build a small pit for them. Plant them out in a rich soil, 
and they will bloom summer and winter. Very little heat 



76 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

is required to ^vinter them safely, and the sashes being 
entirely removed in summer, all the benefit of growth in 
the open air is obtained. On the approach of frosty 
nights, the sashes are put on, and the roses bloom all 
winter. 

THE PINK. 

"Next to the rose, this is a favorite flower, and as a win- 
dow plant, does equally well in spring and summer. 

We shall at once dismiss the garden, Indian, and florists' 
or Paisley pinks, and confine ourselves to the carnation and 
picotee, these being the varieties for window culture. 

Yet a word for the double crimson Indian pink. It is a 
pretty little flower, always in bloom, and only needs light 
and a rich loam to make it a beautiful window plant. 

The best way to procure it is to buy seed ; sow it in the 
spring, in the garden, and on the approach of frost, pot 
the plants for winter blooming. It may then be easily 
increased by slips or layering. 

The carnation pink is a very old inhabitant of our gar- 
dens. It is said to have been introduced into cultiva- 
tion from Italy or Germany before 1510. 

The question is often asked. What is the difference be- 
tween a carnation and a picotee ? None, botanically ; it is 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 77 

purely a -florist's distinction. The carnation has the marks 
on its petals, from the centre to the edge, in flakes or 
stripes of colors, on a white ground. The picotee has a 
white or yellow ground, the edges of the petals being 
fringed with various shades of red and purple. 

Carnations are divided into five classes, namely: 
1. Scarlet Bizarres ; 2. Pink or Crimson Bizarres ; 3. Scar- 
let Flakes ; 4. Rose Flakes ; 5. Purple Flakes. 

Bizarre is derived from the French, meaning odd or 
irregular. The flowers in these classes have three colors, 
which are irregularly placed on each petal. Scarlet Bizarres 
have that color predominating over the purple or crimson ; 
but the Pink or Crimson Bizarres have more of these colors 
than the Scarlet. Scarlet Flakes are simple white grounds, 
with distinct stripes or ribbons of scarlet. Rose and Pur- 
ple Flakes have these two colors upon a white ground. 

Picotees are divided into seven classes : 1. Red, hea\7- 
edged ; 2. Red, light-edged ; 3. Rose, heavy-edged ; 
4. Rose, light-edged ; 5. Purple, heavy-edged; 6. Purple, 
light-edged; 7. Yellow ground, without any distinction as 
to the breadth of the edge color. 

Pinks, both picotees and carnations, are of little use as 
house plants until well into the spring; if however, they 



78 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

are grown, they should be kept cool, and rather dry ; there 
is nothing gained by trying to force them. The best 
method of growing them is in the open border, preserving 
them in a cold frame through the winter. If grown in 
pots, they are much more difficult of management. In the 
open border, they bloom in June, July, and later, and are 
an indispensable ornament. We do not recommend the 
pink as a window flower, but have been constrained to 
include it in our list, as it is a favorite flower. 

The rules we give are very full, and apply both to the 
window, the cold frame, and the garden; they are com- 
piled from English authorities, and possess little claim to 
originality. 

Peopagation and Geis-eeal Teeatment. 

Soil for Culture in Pots. Get the turf from an upland 
pasture ; take off" about three inches thick, and keep it in 
a heap for a year, to cause the grass roots to decay and 
mellow the soil ; chop it, and turn it over four or five times 
during the year; it will be in finer condition for use. 
During this, the worms and grubs, especially wire worms, 
should be picked out, for it is frequently the case that the 
soil best adapted to the carnation contains its greatest 



PLANTS FOB WINDOW GARDENING. 79 

enemy. Before being used, the soil should be passed 
through a coarse sieve or screen, and the fibre rubbed 
through with the soil. The soil in which the plants are 
bloomed, and that in which they are kept in small pots 
through the winter, should be different, for in the latter they 
are not required to make much progress, and the less they 
are excited in autumn and winter the better, provided they 
make steady progress and preserve their health. This can 
only be secured by abstaining from the use of stable dung, 
using pure loam, and such decayed vegetable matter as is 
afforded by the grass naturally growing in loam when the 
turves are cut. Neither should the loam be too adhesive, 
but sufficiently porous to allow the water to percolate 
freely ; should it not be so naturally, a little sand may be 
used to lighten it. In preparing the soil for blooming the 
plants, take of this loam three parts, well decomposed leaf 
mould one part, thoroughly rotted cow dung one part (if 
this cannot be obtained, hot-bed manure, well decomposed, 
in fact, reduced to a fine, black mould, may be substituted), 
and of sandy peat, one part. A small portion of old lime 
rubbish, slightly sifted, will be of service to the plant, 
mixed among the compost. Being duly mixed, in sufficient 
quantity, let it be brought under shelter to dry some time 
before the potting season. 



80 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

On receiving the plants from the nursery, if in the fall, 
they should be potted, as above, in four-inch pots, giving 
two inches of crocks at the bottom for drainage, and nearly 
filling the pot with the earth, but highest in the middle, 
and spreading the roots as much as possible all around 
alike. The soil is only just to cover the roots, and to be 
pressed gently to them, and in this state, after watering, to 
settle the loam about their roots, they should be placed in a 
common garden frame, upon a hard bottom, into which the 
waste water, when refreshed, cannot soak, but with a very 
gentle slope, that any water which runs through the pots 
may run away. In the winter management, the chief 
object is, to give all the air they can have in mild weather 
by taking the lights oif ; to give them water very seldom, 
and never till they absolutely want it. If to be gi*own in 
pots, they should be re-potted early in twelve-inch pots, 
two or three plants in a pot, using the soil above directed. 
Let there be at least three inches drainage. In putting 
them in those large pots, let the ball of earth be turned 
out whole, rub off a little of the surface, and, after having 
filled the large pot high enough with the compost, place the 
ball so that the collar of the plant, -which is just above the 
surface of the old ball, be within half an inch of the edge 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 81 

of the pot ; put the soil around it ; press it down between 
the ball and the side, and fill the whole up level with the 
collar of the plant and the edge of the pot. Let them all 
be placed in a sheltered spot, and refreshed with water 
when they require it, which will be more or less frequently, 
according as the season be dry or wet. Let each pot have 
a stake in the centre, to which the plants may be closely 
tied as they rise up for bloom. AVheji they show their 
buds, remove all but three, and the flowers will be the 
finer, and not more than one blooming shoot may be left on 
each plant. When the buds have swollen, and are about 
to burst, tie a piece of bass matting round the middle, and 
carefully open the calyx down to the tie, at all the divisions, 
as the flower can then open all around alike ; otherwise, 
they frequently burst on one side, and it is then difficult to 
form an even flower. As the petals develop themselves, 
they should be shaded from the sun and rain, either of 
which would damage the flowers. Culture in pots is sel- 
dom resorted to in this country, unless it be for exhibition 
purposes ; and it is for the benefit of amateurs, who wish 
to grow them for that purpose, that we have given such 
minute directions. 

Culture in Beds and the Flower Border. This is the 
6 



82 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

most common method in this country, culture in pots being 
attended with more trouble, and occupying more time, than 
can usually be given. 

They succeed admirably in any good garden loam, pro- 
vided it is well drained; wet or moistm^e, when over 
abundant, is very injurious. The soil should be trenched 
to the depth of eighteen inches in the fall, enriching it at 
the same time with leaf mould and cow's manure, thor- 
ouglily rotted; should the soU be heavy, an addition of 
refuse charcoal, lime rubbish, or sand, will be beneficial, 
leaving the surface rough, that the frost of winter may act 
upon it. In the spring, the beds should be again thor- 
oughly spaded to the depth of one foot, and raked smooth ; 
after which the plants should be turned out of the pots, 
leaving the ball entire, and planted two feet apart each 
way. The after treatment may be the same as recom- 
mended for pot culture. 

Propagation. By layers and pipings, for increasing 
approved sorts, and by seed for the production of new 
varieties. 

By Layers. The time for performing this operation is 
when the plants are in full bloom, or a little past. The 
shoots of the plant, around the bottom, should then be 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 83 

brought down to the ground, and, when rooted, separated 
from their parent. The materials needed for layering are a 
sharp, small knife, a quantity of notched pegs, and some 
finely-sifted soil. Choose a dull, cloudy day on which to 
perform this work ; or, if the plants are in pots, they may 
be layered in any Aveather. Begin by trimming off the 
leaves from the bottom of a shoot, leaving the two upper- 
most on, and entire. Trim off the lower leaves on every 
shoot before layering one, because, when a layer is tongued, 
it is easily broken off. When this is done, take hold of 
the shoot, turn it up, and pass the knife blade through the 
third joint upward, commencing the cut just below it ; then 
reach a hooked peg, thrust it into the soil, catching hold, 
by its hook, of the layer as it descends, and press it gently 
down to the soil. Do the next in the same manner, and 
so on until every shoot is layered, then cover them all with 
the sifted mould, about three quarters of an inch deep, and 
the process is completed ; then give a slight watering, and 
the layers require no further care, but watering, until they 
are rooted, which will be in about a month or six weeks. 
When sufficiently rooted, pot them off into five-inch pots, 
a pair in each ; or, if your space is limited, and the layers 
small, three may be put into each pot. After they are 



84 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

potted, they should be placed under glass, in a cold frame 
or pit, plenty of air given in mild weather, and shelter from 
severe frost, when it occurs. Very little water is required 
during the winter months, and the air in the frames should 
be as dry as possible. Should damp prevail, the plants, 
some fine day, should be taken out, and a coat of fine, dry 
coal ashes spread over the surface. The plants should then 
be replaced in the pit. 

By Pipings. Carnations may be propagated by this 
mode, where there is the convenience of a gentle hot-bed. 
It is, however, not so safe as layering; but when there are 
more shoots than can be layered, and it is desirable to 
propagate largely, the superfluous shoots may be piped. 
Cut ofi" the lower part of the shoot, up to. the third joint, 
trim ofi" the lowest pair of leaves, and pass the knife just 
through the joint. Prepare a pot, by draining it, and Sling 
it with the compost up to within an inch of the top ; fill 
that inch with silver sand, water it gently to make it firm, 
and then insert the piping all around it, close to the pot 
sides ; place them in a gentle hot-bed, shading from the 
sun ; watch them daily, and supply water when the sand 
becomes dry. ^Vhen they are rooted, which they will 
show by sending up fresh leaves, pot them in pairs, 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 85 

as directed for layers, and treat them in the same 
manner. 

By Seeds. The seeds may be sown, during the spring 
months, in boxes or pans filled with the same description 
of soil as before recommended. Let the surface of the soil 
be made even, and the seed, evenly scattered over it, cover 
them. to the depth of a quarter of an inch with finely sifted 
mould. If early in the season, the pans may be put in , a 
moderate hot-bed, just to cause the seeds to germinate, but 
must not be long l^pt there for fear of weakening and 
drawing the plants. Without artificial heat, the seeds may 
be sown in May, placing the pans or boxes in an open, airy 
part of the garden, but shaded from the sun, at least from 
ten in the morning till four in the afternoon. Moderate 
moisture will be indispensable, but if the soil be kept too 
wet, the plants are liable to damp ofi", or to be otherwise 
injured. When the plants have acquired six leaves, and 
are about two inches high, they should be pricked out in 
rows six inches apart, keeping them well watered until they 
have taken fresh root. About the beginning of October, 
they should be potted for the convenience of wintering. 
Plant out in the spring, in a bed prepared as before 
directed. As soon as the blossoms can be seen, all the 



&b PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

single sorts should be taken up and thrown away, to give 
the double ones more room to grow. The finer blossoms 
ought then to be selected for layering or piping. 

The following list comprises a few of the varieties : — 

Carnations. Picotees. 

Admiral Curzon, Esther, 

Coriolanus, Prince Albert, 

General Simpson, Amy Robsart, 

King of Carnations, Haidee, 

Falconbridge, Ophelia, 

Acca, Princess Royal, 

Squire Trow, Lamia, 

Valentine, Duke of Newcastle, 

Benedict. Ganymede. 

THE FUCHSIA. 

If by a window pla7it we mean one which blooms in 
winter, then the Fuchsia is not a window plant. A few 
solitary blooms may be produced during the spring, but the 
summer is its season of glory. 

As a pot plant, for summer blooming, it is unsurpassed, 
being very floriferous, of brilliant foliage, and symmetrical 
habit. All of our garden varieties are hybrids, from 
ancestors introduced from South America and Mexico. 
Strange to say, there is a New Zealand species also. The 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 87 

first, F. coccinea, was introduced from Chili, just before the 
year 1800. 

The plant is of the easiest culture ; the growth is rapid, 
and a young spring cutting will make a large plant by 
autumn. The secret of growing the plant is, never to let 
it stop gi'owing until you have it of the desired blooming 
size ; keep re-potting, as soon as the roots touch the pot, 
until you get it into a twelve-inch pot, which is large 
enough for the window blooming of a fuchsia. Give plenty 
of light and air ; turn the plant frequently, lest it grow 
one-sided, and fumigate when needed to kill green fly. 
The best form to grow a young plant is the pyramidal. 
Train up a leading shoot, and if the plant is supplied with 
pot room and plenty of light, and has not heat enough to 
draw it out weak, it will form side shoots in sufficient 
abundance to produce a handsome outline, the branches 
being allowed to take their own pendent form. The plant 
may also be prettily grown on a flat trellis. The best place 
for a fuchsia in winter is a dry cellar, free from frost, 
where they should be kept nearly dry. About the first of 
March prune back all the side shoots, and leave only the 
upright stem ; prune in the roots also, and re-pot them in 
as smaU a pot as will hold the roots ; as the eyes break. 



65 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

thin out those which are not needed, leaving enough to 

give plenty of side branches. Ee-pot, and treat as above 

directed. 

Soil. 

One part of peat, one of loam, and one of leaf mould 
will grow them well ; thoroughly mix the component parts, 
and break it rather fine; be careful to secure good 
drainage. 

Vakieties. 

Every spring gives us a host of new varieties, most of 
which are discarded in a few years. The white coroUaed 
varieties are generally of weak growth, and not adapted for 
culture out of the green-house. Those with a double co- 
rolla we do not admire ; the multiplication of floral leaves 
detracts much from the simple beauty of the flower ; they 
are, however, valuable in a collection, and very showy. 

Fuchsia coccinea is a pretty species, with purple and 
white sepals and corolla. 

Fuchsia serratifolia, a species with scarlet tube, tipped 
with green, blooming in winter. 

There are some twenty other species, which are beautiful 
in a green-house, but valueless for window growth. 

The following hybrid varieties are all fine: — 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 89 

Venus de Medicis. Tube white, sepals blush white, corolla deep blue; 
fine habit. 

Etoile du Nord. Bright scarlet sepals and tube ; corolla black violet, 
with short, reflexed sepals. 

Souvenir de Chiswick. Tube and sepals rosy, crimson, violet; co- 
rolla fine. 

Ajax. A fine, dark variety. 

Empress Eugenie. Crimson sepals, white corolla. 

England's Glory. Fine white ; scarlet corolla. 

Glohosa. Scarlet; purple corolla. 

Glory. Crimson; violet corolla. 

Lady of the Lake. Crimson blush ; white corolla. 

Mrs. Story. Scarlet sepals ; white corolla. 

Wonderful. Scarlet tube and sepals ; violet corolla. 

Queen Victoria, La Crinoline, Omar Pasha, Nil Desperandum, Duch* 
ess of Lancaster, Climax, Guiding Star, Rose of Castile, Roi des Blancs, 
Prince Frederic William, are all fine varieties. 




CHAPTER V. 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING, CONTINUED. 



Myrtle: History.— Soil.— Culture.— Varieties. Ach^nia: Ease of 
growing — Soil. Aeutilon: Culture. — Soil. — Varieties. Thunber- 
GIA: Sowing. — Training. — Insects. — Soil. — Varieties. Aloysia, or 
Lemon Verbena : Culture. — Soil. — "Watering. Calla: Resting.— 
Blooming. — Soil. Cuphea: Culture. — Potting. — Soil. Cactus: Di- 
visions of the Family. — Cereus .- Summer Treatment. — Pruning. — Wa- 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 91 

tering, — Varieties of Cereus. — Epiphyllnm .• Soil. — Varieties. Hydran- 
gea: Culture.— Soil.— Effect of Iron. Agapanthus: Soil.— Win- 
tering.— Watering.— Varieties. Oleander: Flowering.— Soil.— Va- 
rieties. Pittosporum: Varieties. — Soil. Jasmine: Soil. — Culture 
— Water. — Varieties. Calceolaria : Sowing. — After Culture. — Soil. 
Mahernia: Description.— Soil. — Varieties. Primula: Sowing.— 
Treatment. — Soil.— Description. Solanum: A Parlor Ornament.— 
Culture. — Soil. Laurestinus : Description. — Washing. Hoya : 
Description. — Flowering. — Watering. Chrysanthemums : Culture. 
— Watering. — Soil — Varieties. Begonla. : Varieties. — Situation. — 
Watering. — Soil. 

THE MYRTLE. 

MYRTLES are natives of Europe, New 
Holland, and China. They are hard- 
wooded, evergreen shrubs, possessing 
a peculiar, agreeable fragrance, and 
have always been favorites for parlor 
culture. 

The soil should be three parts loam, 
with one part of sand and one of leaf 
mould. 

They do not require very large pots, and flourish well iii 
almost any situation. 

They require moderate washing, and watering, and plenty 
of light and air during the growing season, which is in sum- 
mer, when they should be put out of doors in a shady place, 




92 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

yet not under the drip of trees. The flowers are usually 
white, and produced in profusion in midsummer. 31. com- 
munis is the common plant of our parlors, of which there 
are many varieties, with small and large leaves, variegated 
foliage, and flowers single or double. 

M. tenuifolia is a New Holland species ; a fine plant for 
parlor culture. 

M. tomentosa is a fine Chinese species, with purple 
flowers changing to white, so that flowers of many shades 
are seen at once on the same plant. It should be more 
generally grown, being equally hardy, except it is impatient 
of exposure to the hot sun. 

ACH^NIA. 

A. malvaviscus is a beautiful parlor plant, sjmmetrical in 
growth, and producing its brilliant, scarlet flowers in profu- 
sion at the end of every branch. These flowers are suc- 
ceeded by white berries, changing to bright red, which alone 
would make the plant ornamental did it not always display 
a profusion of bloom. 

The best way to grow the plant is as a pyramid, as tnus 
the flowers and fruit show to great advantage. Give plenty 
of sun and light, turning the plant frequently. It is not 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 93 

subject to the attacks of insects. Soil, two parts loam, two 
leaf mould, with a slight admixture of sand. 

ABUTILON. 

This is a race of shrubby, green-house plants, well 
adapted for the parlor. 

They are free growers, of upright habit, and unless judi- 
ciously pruned, will soon outgrow their quarters. They 
are natives of South America and New Holland. 

The proper soil is, two parts loam, two of leaf mould, 
and one of sand. If the soil is too rich, the growth will be 
too rapid for the full development of the side branches. 
Keep the plant moderately moist. The varieties for parlor 
culture are, — 

A. venosum, with l^rge yellow flowers with red veins ; A. 
Bedfordianum, flowers much of the same character. 

A. striatum, one of our prettiest window plants ; always 
in bloom, and beautiful from its profusion of pendulous, 
veined, red and yellow blossoms all winter. 

There are many other varieties, some with white, others 
with red flowers, but they are not recommended for house 
plants. The variegated-leaved kinds lose their coJoring 
under window culture. 



94 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

THTJNBERGIA. 

These pretty plants are usually grown as annuals with us, 
for summer decoration in the flower garden, but they also 
make fine window plants. For this purpose, sow the seed 
in August in pots ; as the plants grow, transplant one to 
each pot, and train the slender shoots on a neat trellis. 
Give plenty of sun, and syringe very often, for the plants are 
very subject to attacks of red spider. They will show 
bloom about the middle of January, and produce a profusion 
during the winter and spring months. The plants will show 
bud very early, but if they are allowed to bloom, growth 
will stop ; therefore it ig best to pick off" all the flower buds 
until the plant ia of the required size, when they may be 
allowed to open. 

Cuttings root very freely in sand, under a bell glass. 
The soil should be, one part turfy loam, one part peat, one 
part well-rotted manure. Water moderately. 

The varieties are, — 

T. alata, bufi* yellow, with a black centre ; T. alata 
aurantia, deep orange, with black centre ; T. alata alha, 
white, with black centre. 

There are also some superb hot-house species. 



PLANTS FOB WINDOW GARDENING. 95 

ALOYSIA, OR LEMON VERBENA. 

A half-hardy deciduous shrub, from Chili; the only species 
is A. citriodora, commonly called Lemon Verbena. It is 
valuable only for the fragrance of the leaves, the flower a 
being small, whitish lilac, and of little beauty. As a winter 
plant it is of no value, as it needs a season of rest, which 
must be given it in a cellar free from frost. 

The best treatment is, to plant it out in spring in the 
flower border, where it will make vigorous growth. In the 
fall, before the first frost, remove the plant with a ball of 
earth to the cellar. In spring, trim the plant into a neat 
shape, and re-plant it. If gro^vn in pots, the proper soil is, 
two parts of loam, two of leaf mould, and a slight mixture 
of sand. While the plants are growing, give plenty of 
water, but withhold it entirely during the winter. 

CALLA. 

The only plant of this genus, worthy of cultivation, is the 
well-known CaUa Lily {Eichardia ^thiopica). It is too 
familiar to our readers to need description. To bloom the 
plants well, they should have a season of rest, which may be 
regulated so as to have bloom at any season, if we have sev- 



96 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

eral plants. They naturally rest after the blooming season. 
When they again begin to grow, re-pot them ; if a plant 
with a single stem is required, remove all suckers, other- 
wise they will do no harm to remain ; but the plant requir- 
ing frequent re-pottings, will soon become so large as to be 
unmanageable. 

The foliage is peculiarly fine, and the plant is worth 
growing for this alone^ 

If bloom is particularly desired, the best way is to plant 
some six or eight roots in the half of an oil cask. Paint it 
green, and put on two iron handles ; you thus have a very 
cheap, pretty, serviceable, and durable tub. Fill this with 
the richest loam, and set the plants, the largest in the mid- 
dle, the smaller around the sides, and set the tub on the 
piazza or in a grass plat. The plants will bloom during the 
summer very freely, and may be wintered in a light cellar 
without difficulty. 

The proper soil is richest loam and peat well mixed. 
When growing, you cannot give the plants too much water. 
In the window, if the plants are set in a saucer kept con- 
stantly filled with water, they will be the better for it. In 
summer, the plant will grow well, and flower profusely out 
of doors in a tank* 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 97 

CUPHEA. 

The only plant of this family, desirable for a window- 
plant, is the little Mexican C. ignea or platycentra. This 
is a sparkling little gem of a plant, always in bloom. Plant 
it in the flower border in summer, re-pot in autumn, and all 
winter it will gladden you by a profusion of its bright scar- 
let tubes tipped with a ring of black and white. The plant 
never grows above a foot in height, and is just suited for 
the window. Soil, about three parts loam, one each of sand 
and manure. Water freely, but do not allow the soil to 
become sodden. 

CACTUS. 

There are seven families of Cacti, containing each a great 
number of species. Those chiefly grown as parlor plants 
come under the families Cereus and Epiphyllum. The for- 
mer family is a native of all dry, tropical regions of the 
western continent. 

The soil most suitable is, two parts peat, one part broken 
potsherds, broken coarse, one part loam or old mortar rub- 
bish, and one part manure ; mix these well together and 
secure good drainage. 

During the summer, the plants should stand out of doors 

7 



98 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

in a sheltered place, from the time they have done flowering 
until September. Then remove them to the house, all parts 
of shoots having no bloom buds (they are easily seen along 
the leaves) being cut back to just beyond the buds. The 
plants should be confined to six or eight strong stems ; 
while these are in good health, the growth of shoots from 
the roots is not to be encouraged. 

Give the plants no water from September until February ; 
while in growth, water moderately. They bloom from May 
to August. 

Some of the varieties are, — 

C. Speciosissimus. Crimson and purple flowers. 

C. Flagelliformis. Rose flowers. This variety should be allowed to 
droop, and not be pruned. 

C. Grandiflorus is the night-blooming Cereus; flowers yellowish 
white. This variety will not bloom until it is old* 

C. Maynardi. Deep orange red flowers. 

C. Triangularis, Cream color ; immense flower. 

All varieties will do well as window plants. The first 
is the best for general culture. 

We now come to the latter family, Epiphyllum, all 
natives of tropical America. This branch of the Cactus 
family is distinguished by flat shoots, and leaves without 
spines. The soil and treatment is identical with that of the 
Cereus. The best varieties are, — 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 99 

E. Akamxanni. Fine scarlet flower. 
E. Jenktnsonii. Fine scarlet flower. 
E. Speciostttn. Rosy pink flower. 
E. Alntum. White flower. 

E. Truncatum, and its varieties, with scarlet, rosy, red, violet, and 
white flowers. 

All these latter varieties are drooping, and to show to 
advantage, should be grafted on some of their tall-growing 
Cereua relations. C. speciosissimus makes the best stock. 

HYDRANGEA. 

Thlfs is only a summer plant, but an old favorite. One 
requisite for its successful culture is shade ; if grown in the 
sun, the leaves become browned and the plant does poorly. 
With us, it is not hardy out doors, so it must be grown in a 
tub, and wintered in the cellar. The flowers are produced 
on the shoots of the previous year. It requires to be well 
grown to flower profusely, and the flowers from young plants 
are larger than those on plants three or four years old. 

While growing, the plants should have a good supply of 
water. 

Soil, one part loam, one part manure, one part peat. 
The color of the flowers is pink, but if iron filings be mixed 
with the earth they will become blue. 



100 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

Besides the well known pink variety (H. hortensis), there 
are many others ; of these, H. japonica, with blue and 
white flowers, is desirable. 

AGAPANTHUS, 

Or African Lily. A showy plant for summer blooming, 
and too well known to need description. Soil, two parts 
loam, one part manure, one part leaf mould. Well grown 
it is a noble plant, but will bear much ill-usage. Treated 
as recommended for the calla lily, and planted in a tub, it 
forms a fine plant. 

Winter in a dry, light cellar, and water occasionally. 
Water freely while growing. 

Thers is a white variety, and one with variegated foliage; 
both desirable ; a native of the Cape of Good Hope. 

OLEANDER. 

A very showy, but much neglected plant ; too well known 
to* need description. To bloom them in perfection, they 
need a stove, and yet do well in the parlor and out of doors. 

Their season for blooming is July, yet that may be 
changed, and bloom produced at any season. They flower 
freely when scarcely a foot high, but will grow to the height 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 101 

of ten or fifteen feet, forming splendid trees covered with 
rose-colored, white, or variegated flowers. 

Give them plenty of pot room in soil, two parts loam, two 
parts peat, one part well-rotted manure. Being subject to 
white scale, frequent washings are desirable. 

They may be wintered in a light cellar, and then should 
be but little watered; during the growing and blooming 
seasons, water should be abundantly supplied. 

The principal varieties are double rose {Nerium oleander 
^plendens), striata pleno^-with-double striped flowers, pur- 
purea, dark red, '^|^^«s| !ri\an^ 'a3'?.fi% named varieties. 

This is an old-fashioned plant," a "favorite for its fragrant 
flowers rather than for any beauty of foliage or blossom ; 
the former is dull green, the latter dirty white. 

The common variety (P. Tohira) is a native of New 
South "Vyales, and in England is a hardy wall plant; with us 
it is a parlor plant, blooming from February to May. Soil, 
three parts loam, with one each of leaf mould, sand, and 
manure. 

Water freely while in bloom and growth. During the 



102 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

summer, set the plant in a sheltered situation out of 
doors. 

The leaves need frequent washings, to keep them free 
from dust. 

This plant wiU thrive with very little sun. 

JASMINE. 

A family of favorite climbing shrubs, and very pretty for 
window culture, alike desirable for their neat foliage and 
fragrant flowers. The flowers are white or yellow, and pro- 
duced from February to June, or later. 

The soil should be equal parts of loam and peat, with a 
slight admixture of sand. The only insect attacking them 
is scale, which a little care in washing will soon remove. 
With common room culture, they grow to a large size and 
make superb plants. 

Water should be rather freely given. They should be 
trained on neat trellises, and the branches allowed to droop. 
The most desirable varieties are, — 

J. Azoricum. White flowers in summer. 
/. Odoratissimum. Yellow flowers in spring. 
J. Multijiorum. White flowers in spring. 
J. Niuliflorum, Yellow flowers in spring. 



PLANTS FOB WINDOW GARDENING. 103 



CALCEOLARIA. 

The best way to grow this pretty plant is by raising seed- 
lings. Sow seeds in August, in light, rich loam; trans- 
plant the young plants to separate pots ; pinch out the cen- 
tre of the plant, and continue to do so until the plant is of 
the required blooming size. As the roots of the plant touch 
the pot, re-pot into a size larger. When the flower stems 
push up, tie them neatly to sticks. Be careful in watering 
not to give too much, or your plants will damp off. Give 
all the sun and air possible, and keep the plants as close to 
the glass as you can. 

The proper soil is three parts light, rich loam, one of fine 
peat, one of sand. 

The shrubby varieties are seldom grown as window 
plants, but are reserved for the flower garden. Under the 
treatment given above, they grow and bloom well. 

MAHERNIA. 

This is a lovely flower and a general favorite, always 
blooming, and always attractive with its fragrant yellow 
beUs. 

Its tendency is to grow straggling, therefore it is best to 



104 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

select a plant with a straight stem. Tie up the main stem 
as it grows, and by continued pinching restrain the too 
luxuriant growth 

M. odorata is the variety chiefly gro-wn. M. Hector and 
Diana are pretty orange and pink varieties. 

Soil, four parts loam, one of sand, one of manure. Keep 
the plants moist, but not wet, and give as much sun as pos- 
sible. In bloom from February to May. 

CHINESE PRIMROSE. 

Bath the single and double varieties of this plant are 
pretty for window gardening. Sow the seed in July, in a 
fine soil, as directed for calceolarias, and treat the plant the 
same, except the pinching. By January, nice little bloom- 
ing plants will be formed ; give them sun and air and do 
not allow them to over-bloom, as they are apt to do. 

After bloom is over, set them out of doors (about June), 
and on no account allow them to bloom during the summer. 
Grow them well until autumn, then re-pot in blooming 
pots, and by Christmas they will begin to show flower, and 
keep up a succession until spring. 

Soil, one part turfy loam, one part well decomposed cow 
dung, one part peat, and one part sand. 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 105 

Be sure the pots are well drained, and never keep the 
plants very wet. The colors are red, rosy, lilac, white, 
striped, and mottled, with fringed and plain edges. 

SOLANUM. 

The only plant of this useful family, suitable for room 
decoration on account of its flowers, is the Solarium jas- 
minoides, a pretty climber, with dark green foliage, and 
white potato-like flowers, in large clusters. 

It is useful to climb around a window or to cover a trellis. 
It is a rampant grower, subject to no disease or insect 
attacks, and with sun and air, if potted in a soil of rich 
loam, will take care of itself, and bloom all winter. 

SOLANUM PSEUDOCAPSICUM. 

This plant is the common Jerusalem Cherry. It was 
introduced from Maderia about the year 1596. For a 
showy plant, in the parlor or green-house, it has no equal, 
being studded with bright, red berries, about the size of a 
cherry, during the whole winter. A plant now before us, 
only two years old, is two feet high, three feet through, and 
bending down beneath the weight of fruit. The flowers 
are produced in June, and are inconspicuous. Sow the 



106 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

seeds in a pot in April ; as soon as the weather becomes 
warm, transplant to a rich, sunny border ; the plants will 
grow rapidly, and probably be in fruit the next winter ; pot 
the plants before the frost, and winter in room. 

There is a more dwarf-growing species {S. capiastricum), 
with orange berries, which is also very ornamental. . 

A strong loam is the proper soil for all plants of this 
fafnily. 

THE LAURESTINUS. 

This plant, hardy in England, is with us a winter- 
blooming parlor ornament. It is a free-growing, free- 
blooming evergreen, and will bear much hard usage. If 
cared for, however, it will repay the attention. The flowers 
are small, white, and in large, flattened panicles, expanding 
from February to May. 

The proper soil is a mixture of four parts loam, mth one 
each of sand, leaf mould, and manure. The pots should be 
large, and the plants be freely watered. Dust collecting on 
the foliage injures the beauty and health of this plant, 
therefore frequent washings are desirable. There are many 
varieties, some of which, as the snow-ball {Viburnum op- 
ulus)i are hardy shrubs. 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 107 

HOYA, OR WAX PLANT. 

A showy genus of stove climbers, of which one, Hoya 
carnosa, succeeds well with parlor culture. It is a climbing 
shrub, the leaves dark green and fleshy ; the flowers are of 
a peculiar waxy appearance, produced in umbels, whitish, 
with rose-colored centre, in which hangs a drop of limpid 
honey. 

Give the plant a large pot, and a compost of peat and 
loam in equal parts, securing good drainage. Give as much 
sunlight and heat as possible. The old bloom stalks 
should not be removed, as they put out flowers year after 
year. Much water is not needed, especially when the plant 
is not growing. This beautiful plant is a native of tropical 
Asia, and is one of * the few stove plants that will adapt 
themselves to parlor culture. 

CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 

These plants are favorites for autumn blooming, and 
quite a treatise might be written on their cultivation, since 
they have become florists' flowers. A few hints must, how- 
ever, suffice. 

The best way to obtain a fine specimen is, to set out in 



108 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

the garden in the early spring a small plant ; give it con- 
stant attention during the summer, and pinch out the shoots 
so as to make lateral branches. About the first of Septem- 
ber let it set for bloom, and on the approach of frost, pot it 
and remove it to the parlor. It will bloom for two months 
or more. Then dry it off for the winter in the cellar^ and 
by the spring it will furnish you with plenty of young 
plants. Water should be liberally supplied. The small- 
flowered. Pompon, varieties are very desirable ; the larger 
flowers are best seen in the garden. 

The proper soil is loam and well-rotted manure, with a 
little silver sand. Waterings of liquid manure are very 
beneficial as the plants are showing bloom. The following 
will be found to be fine kinds : — 

Fompone. 
Andromeda. Cream color. Biquiqui. Violet plum. 

Nellie. Creamy pink. Lady Mayoress. White. 

Miranda. Bright rose. Salamon. Rosy carmine. 

Christiana. Canary yellow. Canary Bird. Yellow. 

Mrs. Dix. Blush. Mies Talford. White. 

Large-Flowered Varieties, 
Alarm. Crinison. Prince Albert. Crimson red. 

Little Harry. Golden amber. King of Yellows. Yellow. 

Cassy. Orange and buff. Vesta. White. 

Hermine. Silver white. A7i7iie Salter. Canary yellow. 

Pearl. Pearly white. Queen of England. Blush. 



PLANTS FOB WINDOW GARDENING. 109 



BEGONIA. 

The only two species of this ornamental stove plant that 
do well in the parlor, are B. incarnata, and fuchsioides. 
The former is an evergreen shrub, with thick, fleshy stems, 
and large, drooping clusters of pink flowers in winter. It 
shows to great advantage if well cared for, and is one of the 
best window plants. The latter is often called " coral 
drop," and resembling the former somewhat in habit, pro- 
duces at all seasons, but chiefly in summer, its j)retty, 
drooping, coral flowers. 

Both species require the warmest possible situation, and 
plenty of light and sun. They are impatient of much 
water, but the plants should never be allowed to droop. 
Good drainage is indispensable. The whole family thrive 
in a compost of one half loam, one half leaf mould, with a 
Blight portion of sand. 




110 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 



CHAPTER VI. 



Smilax: History. — Soil. — Culture. Gelsemium: Culture. Stevia: 
Soil. — Culture. Petunia: History.— Soil. — Culture. Ferns in the 
Parlor. Chrysanthemums : Varieties for window culture. Agave, 
or Century Plant: Species. — Culture. Geraniums, or Pelargo- 
niums: New Variegated-leaved. — Double. — New Ivy-leaved. Palms 
FOR eousE Culture. 



THE SMILAX. 

HE plant commonly called smilax is not a 
true smilax, but a liliaceous plant from 
the Cape of Good Hope, botanically 
known as Myrsiphyllum, so called from 
the resemblance of the foliage to that of a myrtle. 
There are two species — M. asparagoides, which is the 
kind so commonly grown, and M. angustifolium. Both 
species are delicate twining plants, with bright-green foli- 
age (we speak in popular parlance, the parts of these 
plants usually called leaves being only metamorphosed 




PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. Ill 

branches), and pretty, nodding, fragrant, greenish- white 
flowers, which are succeeded by bright-red berries. 

This plant is easily grown in the parlor, and, twining 
round the window, makes the prettiest frames imaginable. 
The root is a bunch of tubers united at the top, from 
which crown the shoots proceed. Plants may be obtained 
of any florist in November, and need only a warm, sunny 
exposure to produce an abundance of foliage. The shoots 
should be trained on strings, which may be crossed into 
any required form. The soil should be sandy peat and 
loam, with good drainage ; the pots should be large enough 
to allow full development of the roots ; and, during 
growth, plenty of water should be given. 

About the first of May the plants will go to rest ; water 
should then be gradually withheld, and, when the leaves 
turn yellow, the plant ^ould be wholly dried oS*, and 
remain so all summer, the earth being only just damp 
enough to prevent the roots from shrivelling up. In 
October give water, and re-pot the plant. Propagation 
is effected by division of the root, or from seed, which 
vegetates freely. The atmosphere of a room in which 
smilax is grown should be kept rather moist by evapora- 
tion of water on the stove or over the furnace, as, in a 



112 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

hot, dry air, the plants are liable to be attacked by red 
spider, which, as syringing cannot be done in the parlor, 
are difficult to get rid of. 

THE GELSEMIUM. 

This plant, botanically G. sempervirens or nitidum, is 
commonly known as Carolina jasmine. It is a native of 
,our Southern States, being generally found on the river 
banks, and along the roads in moist places. 

The foliage is dark, shining green; and the flowers, 
which are freely produced, are bright yellow, and delight- 
fully fragrant. 

The soil should be rich sandy loam, and plenty of water 
should be given when the plant is in growth. Cuttings 
root easily under a bell-glass. 

This is a charming window plant, and easily grown. It 
is a half climber, and needs the support of a stake or 
trellis. We have seen a single plant, which, grown in a 
large tub, occupied the whole of a large bay-window, and 
was a marked example of what success may be attained 
in window gardening. 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 113 



THE STEVIA. 

Some species of this large genus are useful as window 
plants, blooming in early winter, at a time when flowers 
are scarce. 

The foliage is clear green, shining in some species ; and 
the flowers, which are very abundant, are in dense cor- 
ymbs. The color is usually white, but some are pink or 
purple. 

Cuttings are struck in the spring, grown out of doors 
all summer, the plants being frequently pinched to keep 
them in shape. Just before the frost, the plants are pot- 
ted, shaded for a few days to establish them, and forced 
into bloom in December. After blooming, the plants are 
thrown away, except the few needed for cuttings. The 
soil should be good loam, and water should be given 
freely. The best species for window culture is S, salici- 
folia. 

THE PETUNIA. 

This well-known plant blooms freely in the window, and 
is very easily grown. 

It is a native of South America; and from the white 



114 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

variety (P. nyctiginiflora) and the small purple (P. vio- 
lacea) all the beautiful varieties now found in gardens 
liave originated. 

The plants only require common soil, and to be trained 
upon a trellis, and, while they give but little bloom in 
winter, will, towards spring, give the greatest profusion. 
The double varieties are s^owy, but are not favorites 
of ours. 

One of the best petunias is Countess of Ellesmere, a 
charming variety ; color rosy-red, with a pure white 
throat. 

FERNS IN THE PARLOR. 

Although most ferns can only be grown in the parlor 
with the protection of a Wardian case, there are some 
which succeed well grown upon the centre-table, provided 
the room is light and airy. 

We have for years grown some species most success- 
fully in this way, planting them in porcelain pots, or 
boxes, without drainage from the bottom, in which they 
have developed finely. 

In the bottom of the pot put two layers of potsherds, 
broken up rather fine, and upon this a few small lumps of 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 115 

charcoal ; upon this fill the soil, a compost of peat, loam, 
and sand, broken fine, but not sifted, and set the plant ; 
give a good watering, and the work is done. 

Care must be taken not to over-water so as to rot the 
roots, and not to keep the room very hot and close. 

The species we have found to succeed best in parlor 
culture are, — 

Adiantum. 

This is a very beautiful and graceful family, of which 
our native maiden-hair fern is a well-known species. 

A. cuneatum. A beautiful Brazilian species, with 
graceful fronds, which are delicate pink in the young 
state. It is propagated so readily firom spores that young 
plants often come up in any pots which may be near. If 
carefully grown, it soon forms a large plant. 

A, affine. A delicate species from New Zealand, very 
easily grown. 

A. pedatum. Our native maiden-hair. 

A. capillus Veneris. The English maiden-hair. 

Both of very easy culture. 

Davillia. 
D. canariensis. A graceful and pretty fern. Does well 
with parlor culture. 



116 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

Blechnum. 

B. hraziliense is a large-growing, rather coarse, but 

handsome fern, which makes a good specimen with room 

culture. 

Pteris. 

Of this large family three are easily grown in the parlor, 
and probably experiment would show that many others 
succeed equally well. 

P. serrulata. This is the most common of exotic ferns. 
A native of the East Indies, it comes up from spores so 
readily, in fern and orchid houses, as to become a weed. 
It grows rapidly, and soon makes a large plant. 

P. tremula. A large-growing species, from Australia. 
It makes a fine plant for an ornamental porceluin pot, or 
for a low-hanging basket. 

P. cretica albo lineata, A pretty fern, and the only 
one of the variegated kinds which will thrive with parlor 
culture. The leaves are light green, with a clear-white 
centre and midrib. It is now very common. 



Nepheolepis. 



N. exaltata and pedinata are common kinds, easily 
grown and very ornamental. 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 117 

f 

POLTPODIUM. 

Those who cannot obtain exotic ferns may cultivate suc- 
cessfully our pretty, wild polypodium (P. vulgare). It is 
an evergreen species, very common on shaded, rocky 
places, and grows well in the parlor. 

Lygodium:. 

This is a beautiful genus of climbing ferns, of which one 
species (L. palmatum) is not uncommon in New England. 

The oldest known species is L. scandens, a native of 
the East Indies, with large, bright-green foliage, and which, 
grown upon the rafters of a greenhouse, makes a screen of 
delicate beauty. It does well in a Wardian case, but is 
impatient of damp, unless in a high temperature. 

L. ja;poni(Mm is a charming little climber, and will 
thrive in a Wardian case, or even in the parlor, if the air 
is not allowed to get very dry. 

L. ]ialmatum (our "climbing-fern") is hardy and easily 

cultivated, 

CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 

The recently introduced Japanese chrysanthemums are 
valuable as prolonging the season of flowers far into the 



118 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

winter, althougli the flowers are very ragged and loose. 
The best way for the amateur is to buy from the nearest 
green-house a few plants of chrysanthemums in the au- 
tumn, bloom them in the window, and then throw them 
away. 

AGAVE, OR CENTURY PLANT. 

The common Century plant, or American aloe {A. Ameri- 
cana), and the striped-leaved variety, are too well known 
to need description. They are very hardy plants, even 
bearing several degrees of frost without injury. They are 
stately plants, and will endure much ill-treatment. In the 
parlor they form attractive ornaments for the centre-table 
in winter, the only care required being not to over-water 
them, and to dust the leaves. 

There are many other species, all worth growing ; but 
the best are, — 

A. Milleri. A variety of Americana, of free-growing habit, and with 
long variegated leaves. 

A. a medio picta. Rich golden-yellow leaves. 

A. applanata. Rich glaucous foliage. 

A. coccinia. A massive species; deep green leaves, armed with red 
spines. 

A. ferox. A very distinct species, with heavy dark-green leaves, armed 
with large dark-brown spines. » 

A. filifera. leaves dark green, clothed with white filaments. A very 
handsome plant. 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 119 

A. Ghiesbreghtii. A very distinct species. Leaves bright green, bor- 
dered with red, and armed with red spines. 

A. Schedigera. A handsome plant, resembling A. filifera, but much 
more beautiful. The edges of the leaves are white, and from these hang 
long woolly filaments. 

A. univittata. Leaves dark green, with central stripe of greenish yellow. 

A, Verschaffeltii. A showy species. Foliage milky green, with large 
brown spines. 

A. Xalapensis. A beautiful plant. Leaves dark clear green, the edges 
thickly set with rich brown spines. 

A. xylacantha. Leaves glaucous green, with broad white margin. 

There are scores of other species and varieties, all hand- 
some and well worth growing, all evergreen except A. vir- 
giniana, which is deciduous. 



GERANIUMS, OR PELARGONIUMS. 

The past few years have witnessed a rapid advance in 
these plants. Great improvements have been made in 
both foliage and flower — in the former, by more vivid and 
better defined markings ; in the latter, in size, shape, sub- 
stance, and color. Some of the new varieties have foliage 
which equals in color a brilliant flower, and in some the 
permanency of the markings is most remarkable. 

Of thousands of varieties we select the following as the 
best for parlor culture, both as regards foliage and profu- 
sion of bloom : — 



120 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 



Duchess. Salmon scarlet. Maid of Kent. Pink, 

General Grant. Scarlet, Large. Madam Vauclier. "White. 

Orhiculatum. " Dwarf. Crystal Palace Gem. Variegated. 

Louis Veuillot. " Gold. 

Warrior. " Mountain of Snow. Variegated, 

Cylister. " Silver. 

Gloire de Corbenay. Salmon, Mrs. Pollock. Variegated. Bronze. 

Gertrude (Barker's). Salmon pink. Lady Ctillum. " " 

Helen Lindsay. Pink. 



Double Gekaniitms. 

These varieties are not very free-blooming in the parlor, 
and are better adapted for the green-house. However, 
after the turn of the year, they often produce good flowers, 
and are then very showy, -the blossoms remaining long in 
perfection. They need a rich soil and plenty of water, as 
they are generally strong growers, although plants bloom 
when very young. 
, The best are, — 



Gloire de Nancy, Double, Cherry. 

William Pitt. " Scarlet, 

Madam Lemoine, '• Pink. 
Marie Lemoine, ** " 



It is said a double white variety has been produced in 
France ; but if so, it is not yet for sale in this country. 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 121 

Ivy-leaved Gekaniums. 

The old ivy-leaved geranium (P. peltatum) is a well- 
known window plant, of easy culture. The leaf is orna- 
mental, and the flower, though not very showy, is pretty. 
This species has been wonderfully improved during the 
past few years. 

A variety with leaves beautifully marked with silver has 
been raised, which proves a capital window plant, and 
requires no more care than the old kind. There is also a 
variety with golden-edged leaves. 

There has also been great improvement in the flower. 
The first advance in this direction was P. peltatum elegans, 
in which the flowers were bright pink, and of better form. 
Next we had Princess Thyra, flowers deep flesh color, 
marked with pink ; and Grand Duchess Maria, violet pink, 
with deep violet marks. But the latest and by far th* 
finest varieties are those with bright rosy-pink or scarlet 
blossoms, which are so beautiful that, when they become 
common, they must be favorite window plants. They are 
hybrids between the zonale and ivy-leaved sections, but 
retain the ivy leaf while gaining the brilliancy of flower 
of the zonale varieties. Willsii has deep scarlet bios- 



122 PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 

soms ; and in Willsii rosea they are delicate salmon rose. 
Lady Edith and Gem of the Season are two of the newest 
varieties, which are superior to all others in color and form 
of flower. 

PALMS FOR HOUSE CULTURE. 

Many of the palms are very ornamental grown in the 
parlor. Their stiff foliage is well adapted to endure the 
impure air of apartments, and is not injured by gas. They 
also thrive with very little sun, and are easily kept clean 
by dusting or washing. It is, however, only the more 
hardy species which can be so used, and the best of all is 
fortunately the most common. 

Livistona hourhonica, commonly known as Latania 
hourhonica, is a showy plant, with broad fan-shaped leaves, 
which grows freely, and is very useful for interior decora- 
tion. All the species of Chamoerops are very hardy, and 
are very easily grown. The most common are C. humilis, 
Fortunei, and Falm.etto. 

Coryipha australis is a noble plant, and of easy culture. 
All the Cycas are hardy enough to do well in the parlor. 
But by far the most beautiful is Seaforthia elegans, a very 
graceful plant. 



PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 123 

"Where plants are needed for effect, and little attention 
can be given, palms and agaves are eminently useful. All 
winter they need little care, and, provided they are well 
grown in summer, will only from November to April re- 
quire an occasional watering ; in fact, the care to give is, 
to see they are not over-watered. Of course we cannot 
give full descriptions of all; but, as a general rule, any 
green-house palm will thrive in the parlor, and well repay 
the little care it needs. 



124 



HANGING BASKETS AND PLANTS. 



CHAPTER VII. 




HANGING BASKETS AND SUITABLE PLANTS, AND TREAT- 
MENT OP IVY. 

HAT a pretty amusement is the growth 
of plants in hanging baskets or 
pots ! It is very popular, and 
deservedly so. The beauty of 
the baskets, now fashioned in so 

fmany artistic designs, is almost 
^^ ^^ sufficient to inspire a love of hor- 

M ^ ^^^ ^^ ^^ ticulture, if only for the sake 

^^^ of growing the plant in so 
pretty a pot. Yet we cannot urge 
the growth of plants in these bas- 
Y-^i v^^^ "" ^-^ ^ ^ kets; a porous pot is essential to 
the health of a plant, and most of 
these baskets are china, or glazed or painted. 

Yet they may be used by setting the pot containing the 




HANGING BASKETS AND PLANTS. 125 

plant inside of them. Another objection is, that having 
no outlet for the escape of the water, it collects in the 
bottom, and, unless there is very ample drainage, which is 
seldom the case, the roots are rotting in water while the 
surface is dry. 

Potting in these vases is very simple. If the plant must 
be in the vase or basket, fill half full of broken potsherds ; 
on these place a thin layer of moss, and fill up with pre- 
pared soil ; shade the plant for a few days until well estab- 
lished, then hang it in the window, and water slightly every 
morning with a fine-rosed watering-pot; as the plant 
grows, dispose the branches to fall gracefully over the pot. 

The plants most suitable for baskets are, — 

The Common Pekiwinkle (Vinca Major and Minor), 
and the pretty variety with variegated leaves. This is an 
evergreen, and produces its pretty blue flowers in spring 
and early summer. There is also a white-flowered and a 
double variety. 

Lysimachia Mxtmmularia (Money Wort). A pretty 
little trailing plant, with dark, glossy leaves, and a pro- 
fusion of dark yellow flowers in June. This plant should 
be in a shady window. 

LiNAKiA Cymbalaeia (CoHscum Ivy). A little gem 



126 HANGING BASKETS AND PLANTS. 

of a plant, and tliriving well in the parlor. Leaves small ; 
ivy-shaped flowers, like a little snap-dragon, purple and 
white. Should be kept rather moist. 

Teadescantia Zebkina. a rapid growing plant, with 
greenish purple leaves, with lighter markings on the 
upper side, and dark purple below ; flowers small light 
pink. 

Ceketjs Flagelliformis. — A pretty species of cactus, 
with pink flowers in summer, and long, pendulous leaves, 
with close spines. 

Lobelia Gracilis and Erinus. These, and many 
others of the family, are pretty, graceful plants, producing 
blue or white flowers. Sow the seed in early spring, and 
plants will bloom in June, and continue in blossom all 
summer. 

Nemophila. a class of pretty annuals, with blue, 
white, and spotted flowers. Treat as lobelia. 

Trop^oltjm (Nasturtium). The various small-flowered 
kinds do well, and are gay with flowers, if the pot is large 
enough, and the soil not too rich. 

SoLANUM Jasminoides. This pretty plant, previously 
described, does well in a large basket. 

Saxifeaga Sarmentosa (Chinese Saxifrage). Very 



HANGING BASKETS AND PLANTS. 127 

pretty and common, producing long, hanging runners, with 
new plants growing out every few inches. The flower is 
white, produced on a tall spike, from the centre of the old 
plant. It is not showy, and the bud, when young, should be 
cut off, as the plant dies after blooming. Give plenty of 
water. 

Convolvulus Mauritanicus. A beautiful, new Morn- 
ing Glory, with pink and blue flowers, with a white star in 
the centre. 

Pelargonium Lateripes (Ivy-leaved Geranium). Makes 
an excellent plant for a basket, and will do well with little 
care ; the variegated-leaved variety is very fine. 

DisANDRA Prostrata. A pretty, free-growing plant, 
with long, slender stems, clothed with roundish leaves, and 
bearing small, yellow flowers, of no particular beauty; 
cultivated more for its freedom of growth than for its 
flowers. Grows in any light, loamy soil. 

One of the most serviceable trailers is the plant com- 
monly known as German Ivy {Senecio Scandens) ; it is 
of most rapid growth, with light green leaves, studded 
with pellucid dots, and never troubled by insects. As 
a screen for a window, or covering for a wall, it is 
most valuable. It is easily propagated, every joint root- 



128 TREATMENT OP IVY. 

ing if placed in the earth. The flowers are straw- 
colored, and often produced in greatest profusion. The 
plant is a native of the Cape of Good Hope, and has 
been introduced many years. It is admirably adapted for 
baskets. 

IVY. 

This plant, in some of its varieties, is probably the most 
popular ornament of the parlor. The ease of culture, its 
beautiful foliage, its rapid growth, and evergreen character, 
all combine to make it a favorite. 

The soil should be a rich loam ; the richer the soil 
the more rapid will be the growth. Yet avoid stimu- 
lating manures. 

Slips root readily, taken off at any leaf joint, and placed 
either in earth or water; in the latter they will soon 
throw out roots, and may then be transferred to pots. 

The only precaution to be taken in growing ivy is to 
keep it from frost while in growth ; and if frozen, to keep 
the sun away fram it, thawing it out with cold water. 

In summer the plants may be set out of doors, and will 
make vigorous growth. 

There are many species, of which the most c»mmon is 



TREATMENT OP IVY. 



129 



Hedera Helix, the common twining ivy, a native of Europe, 
of which there are many varieties. The leaves of these 
varieties vary very much, and many distinctions have been 
founded on these variations. There are two very beautiful 
kinds, the silver and golden, the foliage being beautifully 
variegated with white' and gold. The following cuts will 




show how these differ in foliage, all being taken from living 

leaves, though some are necessarily reduced in size to 

accommodate them to our pages. 

The Tree or Aborescent Ivy is merely a form of the com- 
9 



130 TREATMENT OP IVY. 

mon variety, which is shown by its returning to the primal 
form not unfrequently. The leaves are entire, and the 
plant often retains its arborescent form for years. 

H. Bcegneriana is a variety with large, heart-shaped 
leaves, which is much esteemed. 

H. h. digitata, the palmate or hand-shaped Ivy is a 




pretty variety, of rapid growth ; the leaves are small, 
dark, and veined. This is often called, erroneously, the 
Irish Ivy. 

H. Canariensis is the Irish, or Giant Ivy ; the leaves are 
five-lobed, and larger than those of the common i\y. 

Almost all the varieties of nurserymens' catalogues are 
merely forms of these, with peculiar foliage. 



TREATMENT OF IVY. ^ 131 

The Golden Ivy is a splendid plant ; wKen the young 
leaves come out it resembles a mass of yellow flowers. 

Ivies are grown in hanging baskets, around windows, 
made to trail around picture frames and looking glasses ; 
indeed, they may be made decorative in the highest 
degree. 

The plants should always be well supplied with water, 
though it should never be allowed to stand at the roots. 
Large plants of the common varieties may be procured for 
fifty cents. The ornamental foliaged varieties are some- 
what dearer. 

If you have ivy growing out of doors (and it will thrive 
if you keep the winter's sun away from it), a pretty effect 
may be produced by cuttmg large branches, and keeping 
them in vases of rain water. They will grow well all 
winter, and planted in spring make nice plants for 
autumn. 

The plant commonly known as German Ivy is not an i\7 ; 
the botanical name is Senecio Scandens. It is deservedly 
popular, -^om its rapid growth and its freedom from insects. 
We ha-i'*, in a former paragraph, treated of it more fully. 

The- Ooliseum Ivy is a species of Snap-dragon, as may be 
seen ? .m an examination of the flowers, and a very pretty 



132 



TREATMENT OP IVY. 



plant it is ; botanically it is Linaria Gymhalaria, and is 
mentioned more fully in the early part of this chapter. 

Five-leaved Ivy is the Virginia Creeper or Woodbine 
{Ampel<ypais Virginica), a native of our woods. 

The Poison Ivy is Rhus Badicans or Ehus Toxicoden- 
dron, and not of the same family as any of the above. 




